The Lost Ones
by custardpringle
Summary: Daniel's having nightmares-- and the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . . [COMPLETE!]
1. The beginning

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: G, so far.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Evolution Part 1."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whoa, it's been almost a month since I last posted . . . . where does the time go? Anyway, I'm not quite sure where this is going yet. I'm not even sure if it's going anywhere, although the probability of that will improve vastly if I get good reviews. And I don't own any of these people-yet. I'm working on it, but MGM's got a pretty good case. As my French teacher says, thees eez 'ow eet eez. Although, when she says it, it's usually followed by some sort of dire threat . . . Okay, I'll shut up now.  
  
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The crisp fall air of Colorado Springs was irresistible to joggers; even more than usual were out that evening. One in particular, a young woman, was on the last leg of her run when she heard shouting coming from a nearby house. She slowed as she went past it and looked in the window, worried that something violent was happening. A brief glance, though, assured her that nobody was being hurt; all she saw was two men seated on a couch watching TV. One was leaning forward, bellowing at the television set, and the other was slumped back in exasperation. Satisfied that all was well, the jogger continued on her way.  
  
All was not, in fact, well. As seemed to be happening only too often this season, Jack O'Neill's favorite hockey team was losing-by quite a bit, too. He was not at all pleased, and was making his displeasure known quite loudly to the television-and to Daniel, who was quite certain that the players themselves could probably hear his friend's rant from their ice rink, several hundred miles away.  
  
At this point, Daniel was beginning to regret agreeing to watch this game at all. SG-1 had only just returned from a mission, and he was exhausted. Hoping to catch a couple of winks despite the noise and finally get some peace, he closed his eyes-  
  
- and saw the briefing room of the SGC, instead of the darkness one normally expects from closing one's eyes.  
  
Daniel looked around in confusion. By way of experiment, he took a couple steps forward, sat down in his usual seat, and decided that if this was a hallucination or a dream, it was an incredibly realistic one. What was he doing here?  
  
As if in answer to his thoughts, a familiar voice came from behind him. "Hello, Daniel."  
  
He looked around. "Oma?"  
  
"Yes, it is I." Oma Desala, one of the beings he had least expected to ever see again, walked around the table and took the seat opposite him. "I am sorry to disturb you, but we urgently require your assistance."  
  
"You? As in the Ancients as a whole?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
Daniel stared at her incredulously and with more than a trace of outrage. "You throw me out and wipe my memory as punishment for trying to save my friends, and then you want me to help you out with something?"  
  
"I am very sorry," Oma repeated. "Believe it or not, the Others are beginning to regret their decision to punish you."  
  
"Why?" he asked, his anger slightly mollified.  
  
She folded her hands on the table in front of her. "Anubis is beginning to become a threat to us as well as to you."  
  
Daniel's curiosity was getting the better of him. "You defeated him once, right? Can't you just do that again?"  
  
Oma sighed. "We were only able to attack him directly when he was one of us. Now that he is at least partly mortal, the Others are still overly cautious about doing the same again. They're afraid that he will become even more irate," she said, and had this been anyone else, Daniel might almost have thought she was sneering.  
  
"So he can attack you, and you can't do anything about it?" he asked.  
  
"Not exactly," Oma explained. "Fortunately, he cannot reach us directly. The problem is that he was able to acquire many followers among us in the brief time he was fully Ascended. It was they who prevented us from forcing him back to fully mortal form. You may have heard of them-we call them the Perii."  
  
"I don't remember much of anything from when I was ascended," Daniel said thoughtfully, "but the name sounds familiar. It's Latin for 'lost ones,' right?"  
  
Oma Desala nodded in confirmation. "Precisely. We are able to fight back against them, if not against Anubis himself, but he still has enough influence in our plane to make the Perii extremely formidable. What is more- " she closed her eyes sadly-"some Ascended have been killed. And, unlike you, they have no higher plane to which to rise. They are lost forever."  
  
Daniel bowed his head in sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear all this, but what can I do to help? I'm no longer one of you. I don't have anywhere near the powers you have."  
  
"But you do, Daniel," said Oma Desala seriously. "As I told you before, the Others are beginning to regret banishing you-your extensive experience fighting the Goa'ould would make you a great asset to our cause. We cannot bring you fully back among us, as you are still alive, but while you are asleep, as now, you can exist temporarily on our plane-and that means that, during those times, you will have the same powers you had when you were wholly Ascended, and you will be free to use them in combat against the Perii." Daniel could only gape, speechless, as Oma continued, "It is your choice to make, but we would be deeply honored if you would fight alongside us."  
  
Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times before he could make any sound. Finally, though, he managed to come up with "Wow." With a few more seconds of effort, something more coherent emerged: "I would be like to fight with you as well. I have nothing against waging war against the Goa'ould. But-" he held up a finger-"I could really use a good night's sleep first."  
  
"Of course." Oma actually smiled slightly. "To my knowledge, there is little risk of an attack by the Perii at this time. You may return for now; I hope to see you again soon."  
  
Daniel smiled back. "Thanks." Then a thought occurred to him. "Before I go, could you tell me how Shifu's doing? I haven't seen him in a while."  
  
"Actually, you have, although I doubt you remember it. I believe he is all right, but I will check." Oma cocked her head, as if listening for something and after a moment nodded and said, "Yes, he is fine. We have managed to keep him quite well protected-" She broke off as a look of alarm crossed her face.  
  
"What is it?" Daniel said urgently. "What's wrong?" But, a moment later, he heard it himself. A low rumble was beginning-inside his head, it felt like- and gradually growing louder. "What is it?" he asked again.  
  
Finally, Oma turned to look at him her face grim. "I was wrong," she said. "The Perii are attacking."  
  
He had barely had time to register this when the familiar room around them suddenly began to melt. 


	2. The buildup

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Evolution Part 1."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, hardly anything's happened yet and people are already praising the s**t out of this story and expecting more great things to come. It's a great feeling, but I hope this doesn't mean I do my best writing at 1 AM on a school night, which is when I finished the first chapter, because I don't think I can keep that up indefinitely. I will, however, do my absolute best to live up to your demanding expectations, because I like getting happy reviews-I have a nice big wall that needs papering . . .  
  
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Daniel bit his lip hard, trying to keep control of himself, trying desperately to stay calm.  
  
It wasn't easy by any means.  
  
He was having enough difficulty dealing with the situation Oma Desala had just explained to him. It was enough of a problem simply to assimilate the concept that enormous powers had been restored to him when he barely remembered having had them in the first place, let alone what to do with them. Combined with the new revelation that he would now have to use these capabilities to defend himself against even stronger-and far more dangerous- beings, the situation was threatening to overwhelm him entirely with panic.  
  
And panicking was definitely not an option right now. Dammit, Daniel, he told himself, get a grip. You've dealt with worse; you'll deal with this.  
  
Then he took a deep breath and said aloud to Oma: "All right. What do we do now?"  
  
"We go to them," she said firmly. "The Perii can hear us coming just was we can hear them, but, with luck, they may not expect us to react so quickly to their presence. We may be able to surprise them."  
  
"You know, Oma," Daniel said pensively, "I always thought of the Ancients as such a peaceful people. It's incredibly strange hearing you talk about battle tactics. You're about the last person I would ever expect to remind me of Jack, but you kind of do right now."  
  
Incongruously, she smiled slightly. "From what I have seen and heard of Jack O'Neill, that is a great compliment indeed. But-" Oma's face swiftly grew serious again-"you do not seem to have the same confidence in yourself. Why is that?"  
  
Now this was more like how Daniel remembered her. "I'm not sure what I'm capable of," he admitted. "I can't remember anything about being Ascended. I mean, I know I had incredible powers, and now I've regained them, but I have no idea what to do with them."  
  
"Do not worry; you cannot have forgotten completely," Oma assured him. "Although I suppressed the knowledge fairly strongly, it is still in your mind somewhere, and I am certain that you will be able to access it again when necessary. But we waste time-even now the Perii are mustering their forces, as my allies among the Ascended are rallying against them. We must go-and quickly."  
  
Daniel nodded in acquiescence, and in the blink of an eye the two were somewhere else entirely. It seemed to be offworld, since they were outdoors- in a large clearing in a forest, specifically-and the night sky included two small moons rather than Earth's single large one. Looking around, Daniel thought he recognized the place, but he had no time to remember where they were, for within seconds they had been joined by what looked like about a hundred other people who had literally appeared out of nowhere, all of whose faces mirrored the grim expression on Oma Desala's face.  
  
Problem was, though, they weren't alone.  
  
On the opposite side of the clearing, another group of people was also appearing-or maybe not people, for as hard as Daniel strained to see, he could make out no detail or color to them at all. They were simply dark shapes- shadowy person-shaped beings, rather like Anubis himself.  
  
Some of them, however, didn't seem to be so dark any more. They were beginning to glow somewhat, a silvery color, and the glow was spreading among them even as an opposing pure white glow was gradually growing among Daniel's companions and Daniel himself.  
  
He was vaguely aware of a tingling sensation, but most of all he felt that in his own body-throughout the clearing, in fact-there was an enormous amount of raw energy building up. It was a little like drinking an enormous mug of extra-strong black coffee, Daniel thought wryly. Except that this felt a thousand times more so, and had a certain ominous quality that coffee lacked.  
  
Something big was on the verge of happening.  
  
And, a moment later, it did.  
  
-----  
  
By some miracle-or, Jack liked to think, the force of his own willpower-the team he was rooting for had made a memorable comeback. By the time of the next commercial break, the score was tied, and things were looking considerably up. "You see, Danny?" he observed. "The good guys will eventually triumph." Receiving no answer, he looked over to the other end of the sofa and discovered, rather belatedly, that his friend was fast asleep; had been for some time, from the looks of it.  
  
Jack smiled. Daniel certainly deserved some rest. There was a TV in his room-he could watch the end of the game from bed. He switched off the set, got up, retrieved a folded blanket from the top of the sofa back, and gently placed it over his slumbering friend.  
  
Daniel was tossing around somewhat and muttering to himself. Jack figured the kid was just having a strange dream-only to be expected, considering the kind of life they led. Heck, he'd had some pretty crazy dreams himself. It was nothing to worry about.  
  
Jack started up the stairs, only briefly reconsidering his unconcern when Daniel began to thrash around violently. And a second later-and that was when Jack froze in place and began to worry after all- he started to emit a sound that O'Neill recognized only too well.  
  
A sound even remotely like the one Daniel was making definitely should not have been coming from someone snugly asleep on a friend's couch.  
  
A sound like that, normally-and Jack knew, having made it himself too many times-rightfully belonged in the throat of someone snugly tied down in front of an angry Goa'ould with a ribbon device.  
  
Jack wasn't just worried now-he was frightened, seriously frightened, because the sound showed no signs of stopping any time soon.  
  
Because Daniel was screaming, and it was a horrifying, agonized scream that just kept on going, and going, and going . . . 


	3. The first battle

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Evolution Part 2."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks ever so ever so incredibly much for all the reviews. I wasn't expecting so many, but the review alerts have literally doubled the amount of non-spam email I get. It's really amazing-thanks again. Updates may come a bit more slowly for a while-I have midterms to deal with- but don't worry, they will come. And, as always, I like happy reviews; they make excellent self-esteem boosters during the aforementioned midterm season.  
  
FYI: Anything in asterisks is spoken telepathically.  
  
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When the attack came, Daniel wasn't ready for it.  
  
Then again, neither were many of his companions, most of whom had experience fighting the Perii; even as the linked consciousness they were, the Ancients had had barely an instant to notice that, while their energy was growing uniformly, their enemies were channeling a great deal of power into one particular individual. That one then extended his left hand and let it loose all at once, blasting the energy straight across the clearing.  
  
It was almost like a ribbon device, only many times worse and minus the actual device, Daniel reflected-or would have, had he been capable of coherent thought. As it was, he was concentrating almost entirely on the sensation that he was being slowly ripped apart from the inside out. If Daniel was thinking anything at all, it was only that he hoped to pass out very soon.  
  
It certainly never occurred to him that, technically, he already was asleep, although Jack was frantically trying to wake him um with no success. He was very vaguely aware of a tiny tickle at the back of his mind, a miniscule distraction, but it was nothing compared to what the Perii were doing.  
  
For an eternal moment, Daniel knew nothing but pain.  
  
And then another voice came into his head, much stronger than Jack's-not as strong as that of the enemy, but loud enough to be heard. It was the voice of Oma Desala, who had already begun to recover from the initial assault, and it said, *You know what to do, Daniel. It's in you. Remember.*  
  
Daniel concentrated as best he could-which wasn't very well-and at last, when he was just on the verge of succumbing, the answer came: nothing very complicated, something he had learned years ago in basic AF combat training, in fact.  
  
With a little bit more effort yet-it was getting harder and harder to achieve anything-Daniel exerted some force of his own, and the stream of destruction that had been coming right at him now began to part in two. Gradually it split in two and stretched upward to forma shield protecting him from the rest.  
  
The pain, the disintegration-which Daniel now realized might soon have been quite literal, and permanent-stopped.  
  
With his full and proper faculties restored, it took barely a flick of his mind to reverse the rest of the energy flow and send it straight back where it had come from. He wasn't the only one doing so, and it was the Perii in turn who began to falter, and then to actually flicker like candles in a draft. The Ancients kept part of the enemies' energy, though, reinforcing it with some of their own to block the next assault.  
  
This came in a slightly less grandiose form-a series of smaller blasts, like bullets almost-and the Ancients responded in kind, sending back a hail of tiny white pellets, each with a tremendous amount of power despite its size that got it through the Perii's defenses with ease. They answered by stepping up the intensity of their attack as well.  
  
The number of flickering people on both sides was steadily increasing. The Perii, however, had a slight overall advantage in numbers, and, as more time passed in this fashion, things began to look down for the Ancients as more and more of them ceased to exist altogether.  
  
And then, when victory seemed certain, a distraction showed up. Two Tok'ra, probably guards from a nearby base who had seen the enormous flashes of energy from the battle and come to investigate, walked up to the edge of the clearing. Most of the combatants paid them no heed-in a struggle such as this, two relatively weak mortals were of little consequence-but Daniel noticed them, if only out of the corner of his mind's eye.  
  
*Get out!* he screamed at the pair, praying urgently that they could hear him. *You don't know what you're dealing with here. You're defenseless against these people! Get away before it's too late!*  
  
The two guards seemed to get the message, for they jumped slightly and looked around as if expecting to see someone talking from some hiding place. It was too late anyway; a moment later they stepped into the clearing itself to try and get a better idea of what was going on.  
  
*No!* Daniel called out again, and desperately tried t o shield them, but, before he could do so, what seemed to be the leader of the Perii noticed the intruders and casually sent a needle of fire through each one's symbiote pouch. Both fell to the ground, instantly dead.  
  
*There was no need for that,* Daniel said angrily.  
  
*They should not have been here,* the Perius hissed in reply.  
  
Daniel shuddered at the cold touch of its voice on his mind. *They were simply trying to protect themselves.*  
  
*They should not have been here,* the other repeated. *What is more, they were Tok'ra, enemies of my master Anubis, They deserved to die for such treachery.*  
  
*That is irrelevant here. In terms of this quarrel, they were innocents,* Daniel argued, holding both hands out as if in entreaty-but lightning flashed out from his fingertips, and the Perii leader, caught off guard, flickered for several moments and then disappeared entirely.  
  
Within seconds, the other side broke down into chaos. Daniel and his companions were able to get quite a few thanks simply to the confusion; the others departed of their own accord, presumably to regroup somewhere else. In a matter of minutes, what seemed like a certain loss had been won.  
  
When all the Perii were gone, Daniel sat down hard on the ground, wanting nothing more than to get out of wherever they were. "Oma," he asked, knowing he sounded like a petulant child but long past caring, "can I go home now?"  
  
"Certainly,' she agreed. "You need rest; I will return you immediately. But, first, let me congratulate you. You did quite impressively considering that this was your first battle."  
  
-----  
  
An instant later, Daniel found himself being shaken awake. Opening his eyes reluctantly, he was faced with a deathly pale Jack who immediately observed with visible relief, "You've gotta stop doing this to me, Danny. You'll kill me before my time." 


	4. The phone call

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Evolution Part 2."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The first scene of this was originally at the end of Chapter 3, but I moved it, made it longer, and replaced that chapter with a shorter version. Hope I didn't confuse anyone. And, for the reviewer (sorry I've forgotten your name) who wanted more Jack/Daniel conversation, here you go, a whole chapter's worth. Nice peaceful chapter here . . . no torturing, no violence, no death, just a little bit of insomnia. I was in a good mood at the time-be grateful.  
  
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"I doubt that." Daniel closed his eyes again, wondering whether he would ever be able to get any proper sleep at all. "What exactly have I been doing to you?"  
  
"Let me see." Jack began ticking items off on his fingers. "First, you were rude enough to fall asleep during my hockey game, which is totally inexcusable. Then you started thrashing around, and next thing I know you're screaming your lungs out like you're being tortured or something-" Daniel grimaced at the memory- "and I can't get you to wake up no matter how hard I try. So I've been awake half the night failing miserably to wake you up out of whatever nightmare you were having, and a couple of minutes ago you started screaming at me to get out. Which, obviously, I didn't do."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, but it wasn't really a nightmare."  
  
Jack squinted doubtfully. "Then just what the hell was it?" he demanded.  
  
"It was-more." Daniel frowned and decided to not even try to explain; he doubted O'Neill would believe him, and the whole thing was probably best kept quiet anyway. "It was kind of complicated, and I don't think I can explain it. Look, we both need sleep right now, so why don't you just go to bed and I'll try to tell you about it in the morning."  
  
"Sounds good. Look, Daniel, are you sure you're okay? Cause you didn't sound too good there."  
  
Daniel considered this for a moment. "Frankly, no, I'm not sure. But I can deal with it. Don't worry about it, all right?"  
  
Jack shook his head doubtfully. "If you insist. Night, Daniel."  
  
"Good night, Jack." Daniel rolled over on the sofa and immediately fell into a deep sleep.  
  
Jack stood there for a moment staring bemusedly down at his friend, wondering what on earth had been going on for the past couple of hours and, more importantly, why Daniel didn't want to tell him about it. He knew he'd find out eventually, of course, but mysteries worried him.  
  
Just as Jack reached the bottom of the stairs, hoping to get to bed at last, the phone rang. A glance at his watch told him it was one in the morning. "What the hell is going on here?" he muttered, but knew better than to not answer.  
  
"Jack," said General Hammond's voice over the line, "we need you on base now, as well as Doctor Jackson, if he's still at your home."  
  
"He's here, sir," confirmed Jack reluctantly. "But I thought we had some time off, for cryin' out loud."  
  
"You did. But Jacob has just arrived, saying the Tok'ra may have a major emergency and that they need our help."  
  
"Sir," he said tiredly, "with all due respect, can we at least get some sleep? Daniel only just fell asleep, and I was on my way up to bed when you called. Can't the Tok'ra wait until morning?"  
  
"One moment, Colonel." Hammond could be heard faintly conversing with someone on the other end. It wasn't long before he returned to the phone. "All right, Jack. You have five hours."  
  
Jack had plenty of things he wanted to say to that, but they were all likely to get him court-martialed, so he simply said, "Yes, sir," and hung up a bare instant before they burst out anyway.  
  
-----  
  
Four and a half hours later, the alarm went off. Jack raised his head a half-inch from the pillow and treated it to his patented death glare. When this failed to shut it off, he reached out and hurled it across the room. The alarm turned off. It also shattered into a few dozen pieces, but he figured that was an acceptable price to pay for some quiet. Besides, knowing her, Carter could probably fix it anyway. Then he remembered that he had to be on base in half an hour, along with Daniel-who didn't even know that yet-so he got up and unenthusiastically went downstairs.  
  
It took a great deal of shaking to wake Daniel up, but eventually the archaeologist opened a single bleary eye and said, "Just what the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Such courtesy," Jack observed. "Look, this isn't my fault, okay? Hammond wants us on base in-"he checked the time again-"twenty-five minutes. So we'd better get going."  
  
The other eye opened. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
"I wish. Apparently the Tok'ra have got some kinda problem and Jacob wants our help again."  
  
Daniel sat up instantly, suddenly fully alert, and apparently alarmed by the news. "Did he say what was wrong?"  
  
"Nope," Jack answered. "Probably got a mouse infestation or something. Why?"  
  
Daniel fumbled around, found his glasses, and put them on. They made him look much more awake than he had a moment ago. "Well, let's just say I think I know why the Tok'ra think they have a problem."  
  
"Meaning they don't really have one? It's just a product of their over- productive, deluded imaginations?"  
  
"Something like that, yes." Daniel got up, wandered into the kitchen, and began opening and closing cabinet doors more or less at random. "Although they aren't deluded, precisely; they're simply misinformed. Where's the coffee?"  
  
The question had been anticipated well in advance. "Far left cabinet, top shelf."  
  
The elusive product found and dealt with, Daniel sat down and waited for the coffee machine to do its work. "Do you have to reorganize your kitchen so often?" he grumbled. "It doesn't do anyone any good."  
  
Jack smiled innocently. "What else am I supposed to do in my downtime when it isn't hockey season? You'd better take that with you, by the way. Hammond's already pissed at us for needing sleep."  
  
"When'd he call?" Daniel asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, not too ridiculous an hour . . . one in the morning. Nice decent hour to be making phone calls, don't you think? I told him we both needed sleep, and five more hours was the most Jacob would give us."  
  
"Usually the Tok'ra wouldn't be that inconsiderate. They must be seriously worried."  
  
Jack rolled his eyes. "Ya think?" 


	5. The briefing

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Evolution Part 2."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, L E McMurray, there's little death and destruction in this chapter either, but there is some mayhem. I know the story's dragging a little but more unpleasantness is coming, don't worry. I'm still trying to work out the plotline and the bloody midterms are slowing me down. Besides, if you think this chapter is bad, you should've seen the first draft. Uck.  
  
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By some miracle-mostly the fortunate lack of speed traps between Jack's house and the SGC-he and Daniel managed to arrive at their briefing only ten minutes late. Sam and Teal'c, of course, had managed to get there at least twice that long in advance-but then again, Jack reflected, knowing those two, they had probably never left the base in the first place.  
  
Just before they entered the room, Jack pulled his friend aside for a moment. "Look, Daniel, is there anything you want to tell me here?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
Jack made a vague gesture. "Oh, let's see . . . how about pretty much everything you've said and done in the past few hours?"  
  
"Jack," Daniel said quietly, "I'm sorry you had to deal with what happened to me last night. I don't think you were supposed to be there, or even to know about it. Could you please just trust me on this and keep it quiet, at least for now?"  
  
"You betcha," Jack agreed reluctantly, adding, "Are you sure you can deal with it?"  
  
"No," Daniel said honestly, "but if anything happens to me because of it-" he smiled humorlessly-"by the time you know, it'll be too late to do anything."  
  
"That's a comforting thought," Jack muttered as he followed Jackson into the room.  
  
As they sat down, they were greeted by a disapproving look from General Hammond, although it softened somewhat at the sight of the obvious exhaustion on Daniel's face. He settled simply for stating the obvious: "Doctor Jackson, Colonel O'Neill, you're late."  
  
"Actually," Jack observed, "I'd say Jacob was early, but it makes no real difference at this point. Let's get on with this, shall we?"  
  
Hammond nodded to the Tok'ra, who immediately began his account. "Last night two guards-their names were Lorrin and Tolrak-disappeared from our base on P3A-476. They were one of several guards on duty at the time who reported seeing bright, silver and white lights flashing in the woods just outside the complex. Lorrin and Tolrak were sent to investigate and never came back."  
  
"You need our help to find them?" Sam asked.  
  
"Not exactly. Search parties sent out this morning were able to find them- or their remains, at least, I'm sorry to say."  
  
"How did they die?" Teal'c enquired.  
  
Jacob's eyes flashed briefly, and Selmak answered, "We do not know. Our doctors have determined that both guards were killed by an energy pulse directly through their symbiote pouch." (Jack saw Daniel stiffen slightly upon hearing this.) "However, we have been unable to ascertain what weapon was used; it seems to be something quite similar to a Jaffa staff, but far more focused and precise."  
  
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "That would indeed be a most potent weapon."  
  
"Could it have something to do with the lights that were reported in the forest?" Sam suggested.  
  
Jack flashed her a thumbs-up. "Nice thinking, Carter." She smiled back.  
  
"That is what we believe," Selmak confirmed. "We would like your assistance in determining the nature and origin of those lights."  
  
"You said it was similar to a staff weapon," Daniel said thoughtfully. "It might be some new technology Anubis is testing."  
  
"This doesn't sound like particularly Anubis-like," Jack contradicted. "Wouldn't he rather just take it and blow the entire base away? More impressive, more efficient, not to mention more fun-no offense, Selmak."  
  
"Only if he knew about the base to begin with," Sam pointed out. "He may not have."  
  
"If he was not aware of its existence before," Teal'c commented gravely, "he certainly is now."  
  
"After his troops, or whoever was there, encountered our guards, you mean?" asked Jacob, visibly impressed by the speed at which his friends' reasoning progressed.  
  
"Wait a minute here," Hammond interrupted. "This is all based solely on a hunch on your part, Doctor Jackson. For all we know, those lights in the forest have nothing whatsoever to do with Anubis or even with the Goa'ould at all."  
  
Daniel nodded in agreement. "You're right, sir. But whatever they are, they've already resulted in the deaths of two Tok'ra." He turned to Jacob. "I would suggest that you move your base as soon as you can."  
  
Jacob nodded and stood up. "With your permission, George, I'd like to contact my superiors and discuss this with them."  
  
"Of course." The general stood up as well. "SG-1, please remain here; we'll be back in a couple of minutes."  
  
The instant the two older men were gone, Jack threw up his hands in disgust. "How much do you wanna bet he's going to make us go back there and help out? On our downtime, no less. Thanks ever so much, Daniel."  
  
The archaeologist was silent, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
"It shouldn't take too long," Sam said encouragingly. "If I recall correctly, sir, the base on P3A-476 is pretty small."  
  
"General Hammond will most likely allot us our full vacation time afterwards," Teal'c added helpfully.  
  
"Hope so," O'Neill said absently, scribbling something on a small notepad as he spoke. He slid it over to Daniel, who read: You know more about this than you're letting on, don't you?  
  
After a moment, Daniel passed back: Unfortunately, yes.  
  
Jack: Do you know what happened to those two guards?  
  
I'd rather not talk about it. Please.  
  
The other two watched this brief exchange with growing bemusement. Sam was opening her mouth to ask about it when Hammond and Jacob returned.  
  
"The Tok'ra have approved your suggestion, Doctor Jackson," General Hammond informed them. "SG-1, I'd like you to return with Jacob to the planet and help the Tok'ra to relocate. With luck, you may also be able to learn something about this weapon, whatever it is."  
  
Jack smiled bitterly. "I told you so. What are we now-a moving company?"  
  
Hammond treated his second-in-command to an exasperated glare. "Colonel, you are dangerously close to stepping out of line here." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You leave in two hours. And Doctor-please try to get some sleep soon. You look like you need it. Dismissed." 


	6. The nap

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Grace."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't think my chapters are going to get any longer. I usually work on this late at night , so longer chapters equal less sleep. And I don't think this is going to get up to 70 chapters . . . my guess is maybe 15 to 20 if the plot behaves itself. If not . . . who knows?  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Sam had been correct; the Tok'ra base was quite small, housing only a few dozen. However, it was a largely scientific establishment, and that bare handful of people possessed a massive amount of heavy but delicate equipment. Further, for strategic reasons, the complex had been constructed several kilometers from the Stargate.  
  
Jack let out a loud groan the instant he realized this. "And we're supposed to be carrying this stuff from here all the way to the 'gate?"  
  
Selmak nodded. "I'm afraid so."  
  
O'Neill threw up his hands. "Oh, fer cryin' out loud. If it were just me, ya know, I wouldn't mind. But look at Daniel here."  
  
"I'm fine, Jack," Daniel insisted, not wholly convincingly. He was keeping himself awake mostly by virtue of the powdered doughnuts he had eaten hastily before leaving the SGC.  
  
"You know, Daniel," Sam observed with a small smile, "you're not fooling anyone."  
  
"As a matter of fact-" Jack turned and stabbed a finger at his friend-"I don't think you should've come at all."  
  
"I had to," Daniel argued. "Those lights in the forest-I want to know what they are and how to stop them." Well, he thought, at least I managed half the truth.  
  
"Perhaps there are some spare sleeping chambers," Teal'c suggested. "Daniel Jackson might well benefit from a few hours rest there before joining the rest of us in our efforts."  
  
"As a matter of fact, we do." Jacob's smile matched his daughter's. "That sounds like an excellent idea."  
  
Jackson looked around at the others. "You're kidding me, right?"  
  
"Nope." Jack patted his shoulder. "C'mon, Danny. Trust me, you could really use some beauty sleep right now. I've seen you much more hyper than this on way less sugar." The hand clamped down, and Daniel found himself being unwillingly pulled down the corridor.  
  
"I don't need sleep," he repeated, but no one believed him any more than they had the first time.  
  
-----  
  
The moment his teammates were gone, Daniel sat down hard on the bed, letting out a soft groan at the sound of the lock clicking shut outside. He knew he would have to sleep eventually. Some medical reason or other-Janet would know. But not right now, he pleaded silently with his exhausted body. He just needed to think through this a little first. He was still struggling with even a basic comprehension of what was happening to him.  
  
Right up to the time Jacob had reported the deaths of Lorrin and Tolrak, Daniel had still been able to hold onto the faint hope that his dream last night had been just that-a dream, and no more. But it was more. It had all actually happened, and Daniel had no idea how to deal with that. Sure, he didn't mind being reascended at least part of the time, but different circumstances would have been preferable.  
  
Daniel decided that, since he was here anyway, he might as well rest. He didn't have to actually sleep right now. He was just going to lie down and close his eyes, just for a moment . . .  
  
-----  
  
"Dammit," Jack muttered. "What is wrong with him this morning?"  
  
"I must admit, Daniel Jackson's behavior is quite worrisome," Teal'c agreed.  
  
The three remaining members of SG-1 were dismantling and packing up a large computer, having safely deposited the recalcitrant archaeologist in his room and locked the door behind them just to be certain.  
  
"Once Daniel gets some sleep, he'll probably be fine," Sam assured them. "Although it is pretty strange that he didn't want to."  
  
Jack shook his head with a grin. "I gave up trying to understand that guy a long time ago. But he was having weird dreams last night. That could be part of it."  
  
"What kind of dreams?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"No idea, T. He wouldn't tell me. He was tossing around pretty bad, though."  
  
"That doesn't sound good," Carter said worriedly. "Maybe I should check on him."  
  
Teal'c nodded and stood up. "I will accompany you, Major Carter."  
  
"I'll be along too," Jack called after them as he surveyed the mess of machine parts still scattered on the floor around him. "Just give me a minute to finish this up."  
  
As he emerged from the now fully dismantled computer room shortly afterwards, Jack nearly ran into a young Tok'ra he didn't recognize who was sprinting down the corridor in the opposite direction. She obviously recognized him though, for she addressed him by name: "I'm sorry, Colonel O'Neill. I didn't see you there. Do you know where Selmak is?"  
  
"It's all right, I don't mind, and no, I haven't seen him. Do you have a name?"  
  
"My name's Malik, sir," she said nervously. "If you see Selmak, please tell him that the lights are back."  
  
"The lights?" Jack asked, drawing a blank for a second. "Oh-like the ones that were in the woods last night?"  
  
Malik nodded. "But not in the forest this time. They're up in the sky, and the colors are different."  
  
"Different how?" Jack asked sharply.  
  
She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I didn't see them myself last night, but from what I hear they were part silver and part white, about equally divided. Right now it's nearly all silver."  
  
"Thanks." Jack smiled at her, turning this new information over in his mind, unsucce. "I'll tell him if I see him."  
  
Malik nodded nervously and hurried back the way she had come.  
  
-----  
  
O'Neill found his way back to the room where they had left Daniel; the door was now unlocked, and he pushed it open to find Sam seated on a chair next to the bed and Teal'c nowhere in sight. Daniel himself was asleep, although this wasn't necessarily a good thing; he was thrashing around again, and talking loudly in some language Jack didn't recognize.  
  
"Hey, Carter," he said quietly, closing the door gently behind him. "Where'd T go?"  
  
Sam looked around, her eyes full of concern. "We heard that the mysterious lights reported last night had returned, sir. Teal'c went to investigate."  
  
"How long has Daniel been like this?" he asked, crossing the room and sitting down on the floor next to Sam's chair.  
  
"Since before I got here," she answered. "I can't get him to wake up."  
  
Jack sighed in frustration. "Neither could I, when he was like this last night. Eventually he woke up on his own. We'll just have to wait." 


	7. The second battle

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Grace."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was really hard to write. I don't know why.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Despite Daniel's best efforts, he had fallen asleep and found himself somewhere else again. He thought he was still on P3A-476, but he wasn't sure, largely because, whatever the place was, he seemed to be a couple of miles above it.  
  
More urgently, he also seemed to be alone. Well, not precisely alone, for there were already a few of the Perii there, and more were appearing. However, there were no other Ancients in the vicinity, and Daniel couldn't feel any on the way. Listening more carefully, he discovered why: there was another, much larger conflict taking place a few galaxies away which was occupying most of the attentions of both sides.  
  
Now completely surrounded, Daniel was just estimating how many he could take down with him (about half, with a little luck) when the first bolt of energy struck from behind. He whirled on the attacker and dispatched it with relative ease, but the others were now assailing him as well. Daniel absorbed part of the energy and used it to shield himself from the assault- the action had already become pure reflex-but there were still over a dozen of them, and only one of him.  
  
There was one thing he was sure of, though-there was no way he could let them get at the base. Daniel knew quite well that, if he died up here, the Tok'ra-along with the rest of SG-1-would be the next to go. And they, unlike him, had no way to defend themselves.  
  
Unfortunately, that knowledge, no matter how imperative, wasn't going to help him win this. Neither, it seemed, were any of his allies. Daniel could tell that they were faring quite well in their battle. By the time anyone else came to his aid, however, it might well be too late. He just had to hold out as long as he possibly could, and hope.  
  
Stop thinking about that, Daniel told himself sternly. Ignore the others. Concentrate. There were still eleven Perii left, and his improvised shield was getting weaker. It took time to reinforce it, and he simply couldn't afford to pause in his offensive.  
  
Fortunately, however, the Perii seemed to think differently. They did stop their attack on him for a moment, bit it was not a respite by any means. Daniel took an opportunity to blast another of them out of existence, but the remainder were tangibly gathering power. Remembering the enormous collective blast they had sent last time, he waited . . . waited . . . and popped out of the circle at the last possible instant. The explosion, which would almost certainly have killed or at least severely crippled him, went off harmlessly, causing the enemy to recoil slightly. Daniel, though, still came out worse despite having dodged the worst of it; the recoil from the blast, against which the Perii had screened themselves, struck him, destroying his defenses entirely and bringing with it a brief wave of searing agony.  
  
-----  
  
Three miles below, without an inkling that their lives were at stake, Sam and Jack both flinched at hearing Daniel cry out in obvious pain. "Not again, for crying out loud." Jack said angrily.  
  
"Did this happen last night?" Sam asked anxiously.  
  
"Worse." O'Neill shuddered at the memory and buried his face in his hands. "He was screaming," he said finally. "Sounded like he was being tortured. If that's all we're going to hear tonight, we should be glad."  
  
-----  
  
There were nine Perii left now, and they were not pleased.  
  
Not that they had been to begin with.  
  
Daniel didn't know what had happened to the other one, but the saner, doctorate-endowed side of his brain was telling him that, while nine was less than ten, it was also odd, making it an immensely powerful number according to most mystical traditions, which essentially meant that he was in big trouble. The less sane, more optimistic side of his brain was still looking for something good to point out.  
  
What was left of the circle had reformed around him. Daniel could feel the Perii gathering energy again, and he didn't think he was going to be able to escape this time.  
  
Then another of them-the ninth little Indian, Daniel thought randomly- exploded. Literally. And a very familiar, very welcome indeed voice rang out: *Dan'yer!*  
  
*Skaara?* Daniel asked in disbelief. *What are you doing here?*  
  
*Helping you, of course.* The boy's grin was practically audible. *Are you not pleased to see me?*  
  
*That would be a major understatement.* The Perii had been thrown into considerable confusion for a moment by Skaara's dramatic entrance, and Daniel took full advantage, hastily pulling up a fresh shield. It grew steadily stronger as he spoke. *Especially seeing as you just saved my life. Thanks.*  
  
*You are my brother,* Skaara reminded him, sending a quick bolt at a Perius. It began to flicker wildly. *Besides,* he added gravely, *I once tried to kill you, while the demon Klorel possessed me. I must still make amends for that.*  
  
*You don't have to apologize for anything,* Daniel told him, hastily finishing off the wounded Perius as it showed signs of strengthening. *That wasn't your fault. I'm just glad that you came when you did.*  
  
*And I am glad to be fighting alongside you once again, Dan'yer.*  
  
The two of them moved closer together, pooling their energy in imitation of the tactic the enemy had used, but sent it out in all directions in a constant flow instead of a single flash. The ploy was successful-two Perii who were already somewhat weakened wavered and disappeared almost immediately-but it was incredibly energy-expensive and Daniel didn't know how long it could last.  
  
*Got any ideas?* he asked. *We can't keep this up forever.*  
  
*I know,* Skaara answered. *But if we are able to eliminate-* he paused to count- *perhaps two more by doing this, we will be able to take on the remainder fairly easily.*  
  
*Sounds good.*  
  
-----  
  
Teal'c, who was still watching the enigmatic lightshow above, found it one of the most oddly attractive things he had ever seen, rather like a silvery version of the aurora borealis he had heard of on Earth. However, he was still constantly mindful of the potential threat they posed to him as well as everyone else on the planet, and thus he had been careful to observe as carefully as possible.  
  
When he had first emerged from the Tok'ra base, about an hour ago, and looked up, the lights had been nearly all silver, with only a small portion of white near the middle. However, as time passed, the silver had dwindled gradually, and the white had suddenly brightened a couple of minutes ago. Now, although it had increased very little, the white was nearly all that was left, and the last of the silver disappeared even as Teal'c watched.  
  
A moment later, the white also dwindled into nothingness, and the guards watching with him let out an audible sigh of relief.  
  
-----  
  
"Thanks, Skaara," Daniel repeated , glad to be able to speak aloud again, when the last Perii-for the moment, anyway- finally guttered out of existence. "Don't know what I would've done without you."  
  
"I have great faith in you, Dan'yer," Skaara smiled, also heaving a sigh of relief. "I hope to see you again soon." With that, he tipped a sloppy salute and left.  
  
Daniel found himself alone again, and more tired than ever. "Sleep," he muttered wistfully to himself, and promptly fell into it. 


	8. The debriefing

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Fallout."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another mostly pointless chapter . . . I hate writing the middle of a story. Fortunately, the end-or what I think is the end, anyway- will start being on the way in another chapter or two. Also, I feel the need to observe that this story has nothing to do with Season 7. Any similarities are entirely coincidental.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Of all the strange ceilings Daniel had ever seen upon waking up, and there were quite a few, this was one of the strangest. It bore an odd resemblance to a cobbled street, and he puzzled over this likeness for a moment before remembering that he was in a Tok'ra base, and that, therefore, the ceiling was indeed made up of cobblestones.  
  
Or something like that.  
  
"Got yourself some nice beauty sleep, I see," Jack's voice observed cheerfully. "Feeling better?"  
  
Daniel sat up cautiously, discovered that he was relatively stable, and began feeling around on the rest of the bed. "A little better, yeah," he lied. In truth, he felt like he had just come off worse in an encounter with a steamroller, but he saw no reason to tell his friend this.  
  
"On top of your head," the voice said helpfully, and Daniel reached up and pulled his glasses down over his eyes. The vaguely Jack- and Teal'c- shaped blurs in the doorway abruptly solidified and Jack added, "You missed those lights again. T saw 'em, though, you can ask him."  
  
Daniel chose to ignore this last observation. "How long was I asleep?"  
  
Jack glanced at his watch. "Eight, nine hours, I think."  
  
"And the Tok'ra moving effort?"  
  
Sam appeared in the doorway behind her CO. "Pretty much finished. We packed up most of their computers for them, and most of the stuff-most of the people, in fact-have already gotten through the Stargate. They've got the tunneling crystals out now to start collapsing the tunnels."  
  
"In short," Jack explained, "you missed all the fun."  
  
"Shit." Daniel stood up abruptly, swayed a little, and placed a steadying hand against the wall. "I was supposed to be helping with all that."  
  
"You," Teal'c observed, eyebrow raised (of course), "appear to be barely capable even of standing up, let alone moving heavy objects. I do not believe you would have been very helpful."  
  
"Thanks, Teal'c," Daniel said sourly. "So are we leaving now?"  
  
Carter nodded affirmatively. "We were just going to check in with my dad about that, but there doesn't seem to be much left to do here."  
  
"All right." Daniel made his way carefully across the small room, doing his best to pretend there was nothing wrong with him. None of his friends were misled, though, and he could feel their worried eyes on him.  
  
He'd have to have a talk with Oma about this, if he got the chance.  
  
Come to think of it, Daniel wondered, she'd been fully Ascended for millennia. Did she even realize he needed sleep?  
  
Definitely something he needed to discuss with her.  
  
-----  
  
The team reappeared through the Tau'ri Stargate about an hour later, for once not only on time but more or less intact-Daniel was still slightly woozy, but that was all.  
  
"Everything went according to plan, " Jack called up at the control box cheerfully. "Once-in-a-lifetime event, sir. Enjoy it while it lasts."  
  
Hammond smiled. "Glad to hear it, Colonel. SG-1, you debrief in half an hour."  
  
"There is one thing, though, sir."  
  
"Yes, Major?"  
  
"I recommend Daniel be sent to the infirmary." Sam pointedly ignored the dirty look her friend shot her. "He's extremely tired, and sleep doesn't seem to be doing him any good. I think he might be getting sick, sir."  
  
"All right. Doctor Jackson, please see Dr. Fraiser immediately. I'll be wanting to talk to you after the rest of your team debriefs."  
  
-----  
  
"As Colonel O'Neill already told you, sir," Sam said the moment the general had taken his seat, "nothing particularly interesting happened. With all due respect, there really isn't much to debrief us about."  
  
"The Tok'ra were able to successfully move their base?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"What about those mysterious lights Jacob and Selmak told us about? Were you able to learn anything about them?"  
  
"They did make an appearance, General Hammond," Teal'c interjected, "but they caused no damage. They appeared to be several kilometers above us."  
  
"You saw them yourself?"  
  
"Indeed I did," the Jaffa confirmed. "However, the others remained inside the complex at the time."  
  
"Why?" Hammond asked. "I told you specifically to investigate these things."  
  
"Daniel was having nightmares, sir," Carter explained. "Colonel O'Neill and I went to check on him and found him asleep, but very agitated and in obvious distress. We couldn't wake him up, so we stayed with him until he calmed down."  
  
Hammond narrowed his eyes. "Is this why you had him sent to the infirmary? Because of nightmares?"  
  
"That's not all, sir," Jack spoke for the first time. "The same thing happened the night before, while Daniel was at my house. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong, and once he fell asleep again he seemed to be fine. That was right before you called."  
  
"Why didn't you mention this before, Colonel?"  
  
"Daniel asked me not to tell anyone. He said he could deal with it on his own." Jack decided to keep the other part of the conversation-the "if anything happens to me because of it, by the time you find out it'll be too late to do anything about it" part-to himself. If that was true, there was nothing Hammond could do about it either; no use worrying him further.  
  
"There is something else, General Hammond," Teal'c said.  
  
Hammond turned to look at him. "And here I thought you said nothing interesting had taken place. What is it, Teal'c?"  
  
"The period of time during which the lights appeared last night seemed to coincide quite closely with the period during which Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter report that Daniel Jackson was in extreme distress."  
  
"Are you saying there could be a connection?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Indeed I am."  
  
"Hey, Teal'c," Jack said. "Do you know between what times they saw the first lights?"  
  
"Between approximately noon and three in the afternoon, I believe."  
  
"Oh. That kinda ruins it, then."  
  
"Actually, sir," Sam offered, "thanks to the time difference, that would be about the same as from ten at night to one in the morning on Earth."  
  
"Now that makes much more sense." Seeing the others' look of confusion, Jack explained: "That was about the time Danny was having his nightmares before."  
  
"With all due respect, sir," she argued, "it doesn't make sense. P3A-476 is several hundred light-years away. I can see how something happening there might have affected Daniel while he was on the planet, but not while he was here."  
  
"Neither can I," O'Neill confessed. "But if those things-whatever the hell they are-are messing around with Daniel's head, we need to do something. Personally, sir, I recommend blowing them up as soon as humanly possible." 


	9. The infirmary

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Fallout."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: According to the Microsoft Word default dictionary, Daniel means "somebody who is wise and honorable." Go figure. Also, I just realized this is the first time Janet has ever appeared in one of my fics, which is kind of weird.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"I'll take that under advisement." Hammond stood up. "In the meantime, I want you three to communicate with the Tok'ra and see what you can figure out about these things. I'm going to the infirmary to talk to Doctor Jackson; he may very well be able to tell us something important. Dismissed."  
  
-----  
  
"Well," Janet told him as soon as he arrived in the infirmary a few minutes later, "as far as I can tell, Daniel's pretty much fine. There's just one thing-he seems totally exhausted, which makes no sense considering he's been getting plenty of sleep lately as far as I know."  
  
"Could this be dangerous for him?" Hammond asked.  
  
She shook her head. "I doubt it. His blood work shows none of the chemical imbalances normally associated with insomnia. I can't explain it, sir."  
  
"All right." He strode across the otherwise unoccupied room and stopped next to Daniel, who was seated on the edge of a bed, staring jadedly into space. "How do you feel, Doctor Jackson?"  
  
"I feel fine," Daniel said loudly, frustration only too clear in his voice. "Why does everyone have to fuss over me like this? You've decided there's nothing wrong, now can I get the hell out of here?"  
  
Hammond sat down on the nearest chair. "Colonel O'Neill tells me you've been having nightmares recently. That doesn't sound 'fine' to me."  
  
Daniel threw up his hands in exasperation. "Wonderful. Just can't keep a secret in this place, can I? All right, so I have nightmares. So do plenty of other people. What does it have to do with anything?"  
  
"We think," the General continued, "that your nightmares might have something to do with the mysterious lights that the Tok'ra reported seeing on P3A-476."  
  
"What?" Daniel stared at him in shock, caught completely off guard by the information. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"The lights have been observed on two separate occasions," Hammond explained. "Apparently, the periods of time during which they were seen coincide quite closely with those during which Colonel O'Neill-and later, Major Carter as well-described you as being very agitated in your sleep."  
  
"I see." So they had been there with him the second time as well. Daniel didn't know whether to be grateful for his friends' concern or angry at what he saw as their violation of his privacy. He still wasn't sure he wanted to tell anyone else what was happening to him, and they weren't making the decision any easier. "And I'm guessing Jack's suggestion was to blow the things out of the sky, right?"  
  
Hammond nodded. "Do you have anything to add to that, son?"  
  
"Well, for starters, I really don't think it's a good idea."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Daniel took a deep breath, hurriedly figuring out exactly how much he wanted to reveal. "When I have those-nightmares," he said finally, "I think my awareness is in those lights. The first time, I was in the middle of the woods, and last night I was somewhere in the sky above the Tok'ra base." There-that was the closest to the truth he'd give, at least for now.  
  
"So if there's some kind of direct connection between your mind and these lights, anything done to harm them might also be dangerous to you," concluded Janet, who had been listening to the entire conversation.  
  
Jackson nodded mutely.  
  
"All right," Hammond agreed. "I'll explain that to Colonel O'Neill. I thought it was a rather rash idea myself."  
  
"Why do these things always happen to my patients?" Janet asked rhetorically, and heaved a sigh. "You're lucky this time, Daniel; I see no point to keeping you here. However-" Janet raised a cautionary finger as he began to stand up-"I want you to go home and rest, and I 'm going to prescribe you a mild sedative, which is often good for getting rid of nightmares. I realize these aren't ordinary bad dreams, but it's the best I can do for you."  
  
"Next thing I know, you'll be giving me a teddy bear," Daniel growled, his annoyance growing again. He knew it was from lack of sleep, but he didn't care. He was thoroughly sick of being coddled. "Or why don't you just get Jack to come over to my house and read me a bedtime story?"  
  
Janet ignored him and disappeared into her office.  
  
"No way," Jack called cheerfully from the doorway, catching the last few words. He walked over and plopped down on the bed next to Daniel's. "I don't think any story you'd want to hear would be in a language I could read. How're you feeling, by the way?"  
  
Daniel clenched his jaw in irritation. "If one more person asks me that . . ."  
  
"Okay, okay." Jack held his hands up in mock surrender. "Excuse me for caring."  
  
"Colonel," Hammond informed him, "Doctor Jackson has effectively vetoed your idea of attacking the lights directly."  
  
"And Doctor Jackson has decided this how?" Jack cocked his head inquiringly.  
  
Daniel repeated his explanation.  
  
"So much for that, then." Jack closed his eyes briefly in annoyance. "Anyone else got any ideas? 'Cause I'm fresh out for the moment. And I'd rather this situation didn't go on indefinitely."  
  
"You'd rather?" Daniel asked angrily. "Jack, you're not the one who's getting a full night's sleep and waking up more tired than when he went to bed."  
  
"No, I'm not," Jack admitted. "However, I am the one who had to listen to you screaming in the middle of the night. And I don't want to repeat that experience, thank you very much."  
  
Janet returned from her office with a small bottle, saving the two from further argument, and handed it to Daniel. "Here you go. See if it helps. And no," she added mischievously, "you don't need a teddy bear, although it might be therapeutic to have one handy. You never know."  
  
Although Hammond and O'Neill both smiled slightly at this, Daniel was not amused. "Thanks, Janet. Can I leave now?"  
  
Fraiser nodded. "Yes, Daniel, you can go. And you'd better go soon, because if you stay any longer I may have to give you something for emotional problems as well."  
  
Daniel got up quickly and left without another word.  
  
"You know," Jack said quietly to the other two once Daniel was safely out of hearing range, "I'm thinking I should check up on him on my way home tonight, but I'm afraid he'll hurt me if I do." 


	10. The conversation

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Fallout."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Bonus points for anyone who can figure out why I had Daniel choose those particular movies. This being the tenth chapter, I feel the need to repeat that I don't own "Stargate." Yet. I'm working on it . . . The song is "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult (aka the greatest band in the history of the universe). I don't own them either, sadly. And I have no idea when Jack's b-day really is, so please don't hurt me.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Dammit, Daniel thought, what is wrong with me today? He had been unbelievably rude back there, when his friends had just been trying to help him. Still, he knew quite well that there was nothing they could do. There was very little he could do, either, except hope that either he could learn to control his powers or the Ancients would defeat the Perii before he shut down totally from lack of sleep. He felt all right, though. Except that he felt like he hadn't slept in a week, of course . . .  
  
Really, Daniel told himself futilely. I feel just fine.  
  
Just to be on the safe side, though, he decided to take a bus home, not trusting himself to drive safely. However, although he was definitely feeling a lack of sleep, Daniel knew that actually falling asleep would likely as not make the situation worse if he ended up in the middle of another battle. In a flash of that bizarre form of reasoning peculiar to the semiconscious, he decided that he might actually get less tired if he stayed awake as long as possible.  
  
With this goal in mind, Daniel got off the bus at a video rental place within a few blocks of his house and made a beeline for the science fiction section. A few years ago, he wouldn't have been caught dead in this corner, but Teal'c and Jack, between the two of them, had gotten him at least as addicted to the genre as he was to coffee.  
  
After a little consideration, he grabbed "Independence Day"; he'd never seen it, but Jack had assured him several times that he'd enjoy it because "the hero's a geek-just like you." Daniel objected to this reasoning, but the film also looked pretty action-packed, and he figured it would be perfect for keeping him awake.  
  
A little more thought also resulted in the selection of "Godzilla," which he had seen before but wouldn't mind watching again. Besides, the song of the same name was one of his favorites.  
  
"With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, he throws the spitting high tension wires down . . ." Daniel sang under his breath as he headed for the counter, pausing on the way to consider an enormous "Simpsons" poster as a birthday gift for Jack. A moment later, though, he remembered that Jack's birthday wasn't for several months yet, and therefore was not an issue.  
  
Dammit-he was getting woozy again. He gave himself a sharp mental slap. "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man . . ."  
  
Daniel discovered too late that the line at the register was unbelievably long: the usual Saturday-evening issue of too many customers and not enough clerks. The song wouldn't get out of his head now, but about halfway through the wait Daniel stopped singing under his breath, sobered by a sudden chill of fear. He attributed to his confused mental state.  
  
"Excuse me," the woman behind him said softly a minute later. "Would you mind being a little more quiet? I'm sure you're enjoying that song very much, but I'm not. I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."  
  
"But I'm not singing," Daniel protested in total bewilderment. "I mean, yeah, I've got a song stuck in my head, but I'm not singing it out loud."  
  
"It doesn't matter," she said. "I can hear you-" she tapped her temple-"up here." Daniel felt that chill go through him again, more strongly, and recognized it this time. It was the same feeling he had gotten back in the woods on P3A-476, talking to the Perius before it had killed the two Tok'ra.  
  
This woman was one of the Perii. There was no doubt about it.  
  
He hastily shoved the idea out of his mind-he was totally defenseless right now, and she could kill him easily if she recognized that he knew what she was-but she still caught his moment of uncertainty, and smiled humorlessly. "Interesting concept, eh, Dr. Jackson?"  
  
Daniel forced a smile. "Yes," he agreed, "it is," and drove all other thoughts firmly out of his mind.  
  
"A little something for you to think about," she added.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Fortunately, nothing further happened; seeming satisfied, the woman simply nodded-she was still smiling slightly-and quietly slipped out of the line and disappeared out the door.  
  
The instant he was sure she was gone, Daniel gulped hard. He had no idea who she was, or how much she knew about him-his name, certainly, which was frightening enough-or what she might possibly be doing wandering around in human guise.  
  
For starters, it was a pretty safe bet that Anubis had sent her to watch him. It might only be because of his connection with the SGC, which automatically made him a threat. Or, worse yet, the System Lord might have recognized that he was fighting with the Ancients, which meant that Daniel's allies on both planes were in serious trouble.  
  
Then again, Anubis probably wouldn't be particularly fond of anything that subtle. The most likely solution, Daniel decided, was probably that the Perius, whoever she was, had simply been bored and felt like messing with someone's mind. With any luck, he'd never meet her again, and it wouldn't be a problem at all.  
  
Daniel paid for his two rentals a few minutes later and walked out of the store in a relatively good mood, considering his experiences of the past couple of days. The woman was nowhere in sight as he walked home, contemplating the large cup of very strong coffee he would be making as soon as he got home. Plus a nice big bowl of popcorn, of course.  
  
This could turn out to be a very fun evening. Assuming, obviously, he succeeded in his main objective, which was to stay awake as long as possible.  
  
"Oh, no, there goes Tokyo . . ."  
  
-----  
  
Somewhere a few hundred yards above his head, a small, diffuse wisp of cloud-only slightly darker than the night gathering around it-drifted away in another direction above the tops of nearby buildings.  
  
It was moving against the wind, and talking very fast in a language nobody could possibly understand-except for one being: the System Lord Anubis.  
  
Roughly translated, what it said was something like: *He is here, My Lord.*  
  
And Anubis answered, *Excellent. We will be ready for him shortly. Our enemies made an unwise decision when they chose him.*  
  
The cloud, had it had a face, would have smiled. *An unwise choice indeed, My Lord. He will be most useful to us.* 


	11. The dream

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Chimera."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: L.E. McMurray gets the bonus points . . . read her review. You go, girl.  
  
I know this chapter took longer than usual but I've had a ton of homework lately. Plus, I have a beta now (hi, Ali) but it's worth a couple more hours' wait for better work, don't you think?  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
It was barely a day since Daniel had watched the hockey game at Jack's house, but it felt like a lifetime, and the movies he had rented had little or no success at keeping him awake.  
  
Neither did the coffee, which wasn't surprising considering that he had never gotten around to making any; once he'd sat down on the sofa he simply could not build up enough impulse to get up again.  
  
However, Daniel did manage to make it through a good portion of "Independence Day," which he enjoyed at least as much as Jack had predicted. He began to drift off around the time Will Smith was punching out an alien, and barely had time to make a mental note to watch the film another time before he was fast asleep.  
  
And for once, blessedly, it was real and restful sleep with no battles of any sort going on.  
  
-----  
  
Right now, in fact, it was Daniel's teammates who were having trouble sleeping.  
  
Jack wandered into the commissary, expecting it to be deserted, only to find Sam sitting in the corner staring blankly at an untouched bowl of blue Jell-o. "Why the hell don't they serve beer here?" he asked in frustration.  
  
"We're not allowed to consume alcohol while on duty, sir," she explained patiently.  
  
"I know that," he snapped. "But we're not allowed to sleep on duty, either, so why are there sleeping areas on base?"  
  
"If you want beer so badly, sir, why don't you just go out and buy some?"  
  
"That costs money," Jack said plaintively. "This doesn't. But, since you've suggested it, it sounds like a pretty good idea. Think I might drop in on Daniel while I'm at it, too." He suddenly looked slightly sheepish; Sam suspected he had been aiming at this topic from the start. "You want to come with me?"  
  
"Isn't he supposed to be asleep?"  
  
"Well, yeah. But I somehow doubt he really will be, if he can possibly avoid it. Do you know how much caffeine is stashed in that guy's house?"  
  
Sam smiled at that, but said nothing.  
  
"Besides," Jack admitted finally, "he wasn't in the best of moods when he left."  
  
"Oh, I see." Carter began to smirk. "You want me there for insurance in case he gets pissed at you for worrying about him."  
  
"That, major," Jack said stiffly, "is entirely out of line."  
  
Her grin widened. "Don't worry, sir. I'll protect you."  
  
"Carter . . ." O'Neill's voice was dangerously soft. "Cut it out."  
  
Sam's grin abruptly vanished—or tried to, at any rate. "Sorry, Colonel. What about Teal'c?"  
  
"He's off in candle-land, kel-no-reem-ing."  
  
Sam nodded understandingly. "All right. I'll come with you."  
  
"There's a liquor store near Daniel's house," Jack said, already turning to leave. "We can pick up a case there."  
  
"Next to the video store, sir?" Sam asked, abandoning her Jell-o and following.  
  
"Yeah. That one."  
  
-----  
  
Daniel was dreaming. It was a terribly real dream, but he was fairly sure that he was still actually asleep, because he was dreaming that he was on Abydos. Specifically, he was standing in the central street of Nagada. The village appeared to be otherwise deserted. It was eerily still and quiet, quite unlike the constant bustle he remembered so well; there wasn't even the slightest of breezes to stir the surrounding tents. Still, it didn't quite feel empty, and Daniel was certain he wasn't the only one there.  
  
"Hello?" he said cautiously.  
  
The ensuing silence was not particularly surprising. If anyone else was there, which he was beginning to doubt, they were doing a damn good job of hiding.  
  
Daniel stood still for a minute, wondering what exactly was going on and whether he could wake up if he decided he didn't like it, whatever it was.  
  
*You can wake up,* said an uncomfortably familiar voice in his mind, *but you may want to wait to hear me out first.*  
  
He turned and discovered the woman from the video store standing behind him, dressed now in a plain black robe. "I wish you'd stay out of my head," Daniel said angrily, making a point of speaking aloud.  
  
*Got your attention, though, didn't it?* The voice was amused, and he saw that she was smiling slightly.  
  
"Just who are you, anyway?"  
  
*My name is Aurel. I am one of the Perii, but of course you know that already.*  
  
"Yes, I do." There was no point in trying to lie to her. "But what do you want with me, specifically?"  
  
*I wish to make you an offer. A quite generous offer, in fact.*  
  
"And you actually expect me to listen to it, knowing what you are and whom you serve?"  
  
Aurel's smile grew. *Perhaps you may like what you hear.*  
  
"I doubt that." Daniel began to turn away. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going now."  
  
*We could bring this back,* she whispered.  
  
He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"  
  
*You heard me, Daniel,* Aurel said smugly. *This village, this world—even the people who lived here, even though they're now all either dead or Ascended. We could bring it all back, as if nothing had ever happened.*  
  
Daniel was shocked into speechlessness. It had been almost a year since the destruction of Abydos—an event he barely even remembered, although he knew he'd been there—and more than four since Sha're's death. He'd thought he'd recovered, as much as anyone could from experiences like those, but the wave of emotion brought on by Aurel's statement was nearly overwhelming. She had been right; it was an enormously tempting offer.  
  
He simply stood there wordlessly, letting his emotions wash over him for a while until common sense began to take hold again and finally asked, "Why?"  
  
*Why not?*  
  
"You serve Anubis, don't you?" Daniel elaborated.  
  
*I do.*  
  
"And it was Anubis who destroyed this planet in the first place, right?"  
  
*Of course.* He could tell that she was still confused as to where his reasoning was going.  
  
"So why are you offering—on his behalf, I presume—to restore it? What's the point?"  
  
*As I said, it is a very generous offer.*  
  
"You sound like a credit card commercial," Daniel observed, knowing but not caring that Aurel would not understand the simile. "What's the catch here? I'm guessing you want something from me in return."  
  
*Indeed we do, but it is a small thing, only a single piece of information.*  
  
Daniel said nothing, making an effort to keep his mind as blank as possible.  
  
*All we want in return,* Aurel continued, *is that you tell us the location of the Harcesis.*  
  
Very nice, Cyn. This is a very different piece of fiction from most of the stuff I see and read. As a reader you don't know what's going to happen and I like that!  
  
Ali 


	12. The encounter

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Chimera."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow . . . I seriously freaked myself out writing this. It's pretty weird. Don't say I didn't warn you.  
  
Minor error in the last chapter: I said Teal'c was in kel-no-reem, which is no longer necessary since he no longer has a symbiote. That's been corrected to "meditating," which we know he still does on occasion. Thanks, pettygrew.  
  
Don't worry, Frisha. I'm updating as fast as possible, and there should be at least one more good action scene coming up soon.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"No," Daniel said finally. "Sorry, it's just not gonna happen."  
  
*You could have your wife back,* Aurel reminded him insistently. *Would you rather not have her still alive?*  
  
"Of course I would." He closed his eyes in pain. "But eventually she would have to find out what had happened."  
  
*Why?* the Perius asked simply. *There would be no need to tell her.*  
  
He gaped at his visitor in shock for a moment before realizing that she truly did not comprehend his reasoning. "How could I not? I don't know if you would even understand . . ." Daniel took a deep breath. "Sha're is my wife, and I don't think I could possibly stand not being honest with her. Sooner or later I'd have to tell her that I'd sacrificed her son's life so that we could be together. And neither of us could possibly live with that knowledge."  
  
True to form, Aurel was hardly deterred by this argument. *You cannot know that we will kill Shifu, or indeed that we will harm the man at all.*  
  
Man? Daniel wondered briefly at her choice of words, and then realized that, at the rate he'd been growing, Shifu would probably look about his age by now. "No, I can't know that for certain. But I know the Goa'ould pretty well-too well, in fact-and I'd say that's a reasonably good guess."  
  
Aurel wisely chose not to argue with this, instead switching tactics again. *The Ancients have hidden Shifu well, but they are weakening, and we will have him eventually whether you help us or not. Your cooperation will simply make things very much less unpleasant for you and help to hasten the end of this war.*  
  
"Well, if your side is going to win anyway-which, personally, I doubt- that's not exactly a great incentive, is it?"  
  
*You are certain of your decision, then?*  
  
"Quite certain," Daniel answered, ignoring the temptation that still tugged faintly at his heart.  
  
*Very well.* To his surprise, she smiled slightly. *But I doubt that your resolve will stand.*  
  
"What makes you think that?" Daniel asked, but he was already slipping out of the dream into a deeper sleep.  
  
The last thing he heard before falling out of the desert into oblivion was Aurel's voice. *Oh, I have my ways of changing your mind, Daniel. You will see.*  
  
-----  
  
Once he had finally obtained his coveted case of beer, Jack's mood had taken a sharp upward swing. He began whistling a quietly unrecognizable tune as he and Carter left the store to walk over to Daniel's house. Sam winced slightly, but decided it would be best not to describe to her commanding officer just how off key he was. She figured one snide comment per evening was the most she could safely get away with.  
  
As the pair crossed the parking lot, a woman neither of them recognized appeared noiselessly at Jack's shoulder and said, "Excuse me, would you mind not making that atrocious racket? It's really quite irritating."  
  
Jack jumped about a foot in the air. "What the hell-Excuse me, madam," he corrected himself quickly, "but would you mind not sneaking up on people like that?"  
  
"If you hadn't been busy torturing the eardrums of everyone in hearing range," the stranger retorted sourly, "you would have heard me coming."  
  
"Come on." Jack looked at Sam for help. "Carter, was I being that loud?"  
  
The woman swung around as well, and her jet-black eyes met Sam's blue ones for a moment. Sam felt a chill go through her; whoever this person was, there was something very wrong with her. "No," she said, and lied for good measure, "It was hardly audible."  
  
"You see?" He turned back to the complainer. "I wasn't being loud. I'm sorry if it bothered you, but Carter here-" Jack jerked a thumb at her- "says I was being quiet, and what's more, she's right."  
  
"Really," she said thoughtfully. "Funny thing, you know, that's what the other one said too. In fact, he said he wasn't singing at all, it was just a song stuck in his head. I could still hear it, though. Quite aggravating."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sam demanded angrily. "What 'other one?' And just who are you, anyway?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Aurel." The woman smiled sweetly. "And you, I know, are Colonel Jonathan O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter."  
  
"And how exactly do you know that?" Jack asked suspiciously.  
  
"The same way I could hear your friend Doctor Jackson singing, of course." Aurel tapped her temple meaningfully with one finger. "And if you want to know who-and what-I am, Colonel, you had better ask him."  
  
He shrugged. "I really don't care who or what you are, so long as I never have to see you again. Carter and Daniel are the scientists, not me. What I do care about is how you know him, and why exactly you're wandering around in our brains."  
  
"How I know him is currently unimportant," she said dismissively. "All you need to know is that we two are acquainted. As I said, you will be able to ask him yourself when you arrive at his house in a few minutes."  
  
"Sir," Sam added, "you may not be interested in who this woman is, but I certainly am. She doesn't seem particularly friendly, and if she turns out to be an enemy of ours, we need to know as much as we possibly can."  
  
Listening, Aurel smiled again. "You're right on one thing, Major: I most certainly am your enemy. But I think that's all you're going to find out about me for now."  
  
Jack frowned. "What happened to us asking Daniel?"  
  
"You can go right ahead and do that, Colonel. I believe you will find the conversation most informative. Major Carter, however, will not be accompanying you."  
  
"Now wait just a second-" Jack started to say angrily, but discovered that he couldn't. In fact, he could barely move at all, and neither could Sam, judging by the expression on her face.  
  
Aurel was beginning to blur, her human form dissipating into a thick, dark, swirling cloud of . . . something, which was rapidly engulfing Sam. Her voice laughed softly in Jack's head, mocking his inability to help his friend even as Carter herself began to dissolve, merging with the surrounding haze.  
  
Just what the hell is going on here? Jack wondered.  
  
Aurel heard. *You will learn soon enough,* she told him, even as she began to disappear, along with what had been Sam Carter a moment ago. *Daniel must know what has happened here. Tell him I am certain he will make the right decision now.*  
  
-----  
  
Daniel was sleeping peacefully when he was jarred awake by someone pounding on his door. He got up with a groan, walked over, and opened it to find a rather displeased-looking Jack on the other side, who walked in without a word of greeting.  
  
No, not displeased. Frightened, almost. Which was not an expression one saw on Jack's face particularly often.  
  
I have my ways of changing your mind, she had said.  
  
I have my ways.  
  
"Aurel," Daniel said simply. It was not a question.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
Daniel sat back down on the sofa next to his friend. "We need to talk."  
  
"My thoughts exactly." 


	13. The talk

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Death Knell."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, Frisha, you've got your wish. Stuff is happening. Have fun. But if somebody ends up dead, I'm blaming you.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Finally, Daniel said, "You know, it might make it easier for me to explain if I knew exactly what I'm explaining."  
  
"All right." Jack took a deep breath. "Carter and I wanted to make sure you were actually resting like the doc told you to, so we decided to come over here and check."  
  
"Wait a sec. Sam came with you? Then where is she?"  
  
"That's exactly what I was hoping you could tell me," Jack said tiredly.  
  
Daniel stared. "I don't understand."  
  
"Along the way," he explained, "we met this Aurel person. She said she was a friend of yours-" Daniel grimaced at that choice of words-"and could read people's minds. Woman wasn't kidding, either. I could hear her talking inside my head. Creepy friends you have, Danny."  
  
"Definitely the Aurel I know."  
  
"Anyway," Jack continued, "she turned into sort of a dark moving cloud thingy and ate Carter."  
  
"Aurel ate Sam?" Daniel gaped in shock.  
  
Jack gestured vaguely. "Well, didn't eat her, per se. Kinda dissolved her. And then they both disappeared. Oh, yeah, Aurel left you a message, too. Wanted me to tell you she's sure you'll make the right decision now."  
  
"Oh, no." Daniel shook his head. "Anubis is even more desperate than I thought. This is not good at all."  
  
"Ya think?" Jack snapped. "Now would you like to tell me exactly what you've gotten yourself into?"  
  
"Well, to be brief, Aurel is an Ascended servant of Anubis-called a Perius- and she's trying to get me to tell her where the Ancients have hidden Shifu . If she finds out, Anubis can get information from him to help in a war against the Ancients. I don't even know where Shifu is right now, actually, but Aurel doesn't seem to have picked up on that for some reason."  
  
"So kidnapping Carter is their idea of motivation?" Jack asked. "Can't you just get Oma to find her for you?"  
  
"Jack," Daniel explained patiently, "the Perii-especially with Anubis behind them-are pretty damn powerful. If they can't find Shifu once we've hidden him, what're the chances of us being able to find Sam if they've got her safely locked away somewhere?"  
  
"Point taken." Jack nodded, and then did a double take. "Wait a second, Daniel. Please tell me you did not just refer to the Ancients as 'we.'"  
  
"I did say that was the short version," Daniel reminded him.  
  
"You didn't die again and forget to tell me, did you?" Jack poked his friend's shoulder experimentally. "Seems solid enough . . ."  
  
"I'm not dead, Jack. But I can Ascend in my sleep."  
  
It was O'Neill's turn to gape. "You're joking, right?" Daniel shook his head. "How long has this been going on?"  
  
"Only a couple of days," Daniel assured him. "First time was while we were watching the hockey game."  
  
"You were that bored, huh?"  
  
Daniel smiled weakly. "You know those lights on P3A-476 you wanted to blow out of the sky?"  
  
"Yeah . . ." Jack's voice trailed off as comprehension dawned.  
  
"The silver ones were Perii; nobody with any sense would've ever missed them. But the white bits blasting them were Skaara and I. You might've regretted that later on."  
  
Jack shook his head. "The situations you get yourself into, Danny . . . it boggles the mind." Abruptly, he switched into full business mode. "So, what do we do now?"  
  
"You're going to go in the kitchen and call General Hammond," Daniel told him. "He needs to know what's going on."  
  
"And what are you going to do?" Jack asked, already getting up.  
  
"I need to see if I can get hold of Oma."  
  
"Didn't you say she couldn't find Carter?"  
  
"She can't. But I might be able to, and I'm going to need to talk to her first."  
  
Jack rolled his eyes. "I don't even pretend to be able to understand what you're talking about."  
  
"Jack," Daniel said quietly, "remember Lorrin and Tolrak? I tried to save them. I tried to get them out of the way, but I couldn't, and I had to watch them die. I'm not letting the same thing happen to Sam."  
  
"I understand." O'Neill swallowed hard. "I'm still not sure I quite understand what's going on here. But I have faith in you. Whatever you're going to do, Daniel, just try to come back out of it, okay?"  
  
Daniel smiled, appreciating his friend's rare candor. "Okay. I'll see you soon."  
  
"See you soon," Jack repeated, and disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Listening for a moment, Daniel heard the phone lifted out of the cradle and the sound of the SGC being dialed. Then he concentrated, focused as much mental energy as he could, and called at the top of his figurative lungs.  
  
Oma Desala didn't answer.  
  
Oma, he thought angrily, I know you can hear me. I need to talk to you. Now.  
  
Within seconds, he was back in the briefing room. Oma was standing across from him, arms crossed across her chest, looking none too pleased at the urgent request. "What is it, Daniel?"  
  
-----  
  
Meanwhile, Jack was issuing a similar, equally curt command to a very young SGC technician who sounded utterly terrified of him but who nevertheless dashed off to find General Hammond before the frantic colonel on the other end exploded entirely. Poor kid, Jack thought absently as he waited, hate for him to end up with MacKenzie because I threatened him.  
  
Within a few minutes, though, he was gratified to hear Hammond himself pick up the phone, sounding rather bleary. "Colonel O'Neill, do you realize what time of night it is? This had damn well better be important."  
  
"Believe me, sir, it is," Jack promised, and proceeded to tell him all about it.  
  
There was silence on the General's end for several seconds afterward. "And you're quite sure about this, Colonel?" he asked finally.  
  
"Of course, sir. I know Daniel's story seems pretty out there, but it does explain the deaths of those two Tok'ra."  
  
"That it does." Hammond considered for an instant. "All right, Colonel, I'd like you and Doctor Jackson to return to base right away. If there's anything we can do about this situation, that'll probably be the best place to be."  
  
"That might be a problem, sir," Jack said reluctantly. "Daniel's talking to Oma Desala right now, and I don't know how long that'll take."  
  
"Very well. Just try to get here as soon as possible."  
  
"Understood, sir." Jack hung up and headed back for the living room. "C'mon, Daniel. We've gotta-" he stopped dead in his tracks, taking in the sight in front of him-"go. Oh, shit . . ."  
  
Daniel was slumped over on the sofa, obviously unconscious and completely limp. Somehow, this total inertness was even more frightening than the violence Jack had seen before. He checked immediately and found a strong pulse, but to all other appearances Daniel was wholly lifeless. 


	14. The infirmary again

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And the worst thing is, they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Death Knell."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I posted chapter three I was averaging seven reviews per chapter. Now it's down to about four and a half, and the last couple only got one or two each. I really don't think I'm doing *that* bad a job. It's up to you, people . . . if you'd rather, I can just stop here and leave Daniel comatose and Sam noncorporeal indefinitely. Have it your way.  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
"You knew this was going to happen from the start, didn't you?" Daniel accused. "That's why you never told me where Shifu is."  
  
Oma shook her head. "Not exactly. You are correct that we were afraid the Perii would attempt to corrupt you. However, the use of Samantha Carter as a hostage was wholly unexpected."  
  
"You could've at least warned me. I might have been able to keep her from being taken."  
  
"Perhaps, perhaps not."  
  
Daniel began to pace. "Why are they doing this, anyway? Aurel can read minds; she must know I have no idea where the Harcesis is. What's the point in trying to get me to reveal something I don't even know?"  
  
"That's the problem." Oma sighed. "I told you, I believe, that your memories of being fully Ascended have not been erased, simply suppressed. Therefore, the knowledge is in your memory somewhere, even if you cannot currently recall it. Aurel and Anubis both know this."  
  
"Great. Just great. So what exactly are we going to do about it?"  
  
"Nothing," Oma said helpfully. "It would seem that we are at an impasse."  
  
"You know what?" Daniel stabbed a finger at her. "I don't agree. I think there is something we can do."  
  
She clasped her hands behind her. "What would that be?"  
  
"I'm going to agree to their demands," he said.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Oma stared at him. "Do you realize the disastrous results that could come-will, in fact, come, without a doubt-if Anubis gains access to the Harcesis?"  
  
"I do." Daniel nodded soberly. "But I only said I would agree to the bargain. I have no intention of actually fulfilling the agreement."  
  
She exhaled in relief. "What good will that do? They will know that you are deceiving them."  
  
"Not necessarily," he explained. "With luck, I'll be able to control my thoughts to the point that Aurel won't realize I'm bluffing. Then I may be able to free Sam."  
  
"But then what will happen to you?" Oma asked. "I suspect that Aurel will not be particularly pleased to learn of your deception."  
  
Daniel smiled grimly. "You've seen me fight, Oma. Do you really think I won't be able to defend myself?"  
  
"Point taken," she assented. "Will you be requiring assistance?"  
  
"I need you to put me to sleep until I'm finished, but I'll also need to be able to wake up right away if I have to."  
  
Oma nodded gracefully. "Of course."  
  
Daniel could almost feel his body go limp back on the couch. "And one other thing."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"If this is really as important to Anubis as we think it is," Daniel observed grimly, "he may well decide to come deal with me himself."  
  
Oma bit her lip. "We must hope it does not come to that."  
  
"I agree. But if it does, I'm going to need to be able to defend myself against him. Can you keep the Others off my back if that happens?"  
  
"They will not be pleased to learn that you have done this in the first place," she objected. "I cannot be certain of convincing them not to obstruct you."  
  
"Please try," Daniel said urgently.  
  
"Agreed," she said finally. "I wish you the best of luck, Daniel."  
  
"So do I," he said seriously, and left.  
  
-----  
  
Jack wasted no time in swinging Daniel's unconscious form up from the sofa into a fireman's carry and heading out the door. Then he remembered that he had walked there.  
  
Fortunately, he found Daniel's keys in a pocket. Within seconds he was starting his friend's car with one hand, its proper owner buckled limply in the passenger seat, and flipping a cell phone open in the other hand.  
  
"Hey, doc," he greeted as he pulled out and headed down the street at breakneck pace. "Yes, I know it's two in the morning . . . Oh, I was doing just great until about an hour ago . . . Look, could you please have a medical team waiting when we get there? Daniel's passed out and I have no idea what's wrong with him . . . Thanks. See you very soon."  
  
Jack cast a brief glance over, narrowly missing crashing into a truck in the process. "Hang in there, Danny. Hell, I'm not even sure you are in there right now. Whatever's going on, just get through it."  
  
-----  
  
"Colonel, Doctor, report!" General Hammond called out, appearing at the end of the corridor as an orderly was wheeling the stretcher into the infirmary. "What the hell happened?"  
  
"I have no idea, sir," Jack reported. "I hung up the phone when I was done talking to you, went into the living room and found Daniel like this. Got him here as fast as I could."  
  
"Doctor Fraiser?"  
  
Janet was shining a penlight into Daniel's eyes; she didn't look particularly pleased with whatever she saw there. "He's totally unresponsive, sir. I'd say he's almost certainly comatose, especially since pulse and respiration are down. Hook up an EEG, would you?" she added to the nearest nurse.  
  
"He told me he's been Ascending in his sleep," Jack offered. "Would that explain it?"  
  
"It's possible," she said doubtfully. "I really don't understand the process well enough to say for sure."  
  
Teal'c suddenly appeared at Jack's shoulder. "How severe is Daniel Jackson's condition?"  
  
O'Neill jumped. "Christ, T, don't do that. My poor old heart can only take so much at one time. As for Daniel's condition, we've narrowed it down to either coma or Ascension, which are apparently so similar that it's impossible to tell the difference." He slumped wearily into a chair at Daniel's bedside. "I personally don't know which to hope for right now. Plus, just to make things interesting, Carter's been taken hostage by an evil Ancient who's trying to help Anubis get Shifu."  
  
"The situation does seem rather hopeless," Teal'c observed. "However, if Daniel Jackson has indeed temporarily Ascended, he is most likely doing his best to rectify it."  
  
"That had better be what's going on," interjected Janet, who was frowning at the EEG readout. "Because, as far as I can tell, Daniel is completely brain-dead."  
  
"Oh, great." Jack dropped his head into his hands. "Daniel," he muttered, "whatever you're up to, I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing." 


	15. The rescue

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," whatever the hell they are.  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Death Knell."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry about the delay—technical difficulties. Made it a little longer than usual to compensate.  
  
Koreanpearl, I know you're reading this, so I included a little Bible reference just for you to compensate for Jack saying "Christ" in the last chapter. That work?  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
Sam was drifing in nothingness. Come to think of it, she rather suspected she was part of the nothingness at this point, and the fact that she continued to be self-aware was simply a lucky chance. She supposed she should be grateful. On the other hand, there wasn't a heck of a lot to be aware of.  
  
Maybe, Sam thought, maybe if I pinched myself very hard I would wake up. Thing was, though, she had no self to pinch, any more than she had fingers with which to do so.  
  
It was altogether a strange experience, rather womblike, except that from what Sam had heard of wombs they tended to be warm and cozy. This place, whatever and wherever it might be, was neither warm nor cozy; in fact, it was cold enough that Sam felt she ought to be shivering. (She wasn't, of course, for obvious reasons.)  
  
Okay, this was definitely not a womb. A sort of anti-womb, perhaps, which did—what? Reversed the birthing process, possibly, so that instead of growing one shrank into nothing, eventually to wholly cease one's existence and be reabsorbed into the cosmos. Backwards evolution. The earth a formless void, and darkness covering the face of the earth once again.  
  
Sam tried again to shiver at that thought, failed, and hoped she could get out of there before that happened.  
  
Sam hoped she could get out of there, period.  
  
Whatever was going on here, she definitely didn't like it. And she wanted out—now. Sadly, however, that didn't seem to be possible, unless Aurel changed her mind. And that didn't seem to be particularly likely, either, unless Daniel "made the right decision," as the mysterious woman had put it. A third impossible thing; from what she had seen of Aurel, Sam didn't think her idea of "right" would exactly jibe with Daniel's.  
  
What was Daniel up to, anyway? He'd been really off the past couple of days—constantly exhausted despite sleeping more than usual—and now this enigmatic person showed up, claiming to be acquainted with him. If—make that when, optimism was always a good thing—she got out of this, they were definitely going to have to talk.  
  
No sooner had this thought flitted through her mind than she distinctly heard Daniel say, *I want to talk to Sam.* His voice was somewhat distant and muffled, but distinctly audible.  
  
Daniel? she thought, wondering if he could hear her.  
  
*Be silent, Major Carter,* Aurel's voice snapped at her coldly. *It is none of your concern. I'm afraid not,* she added more pleasantly to Daniel, who apparently had not heard the exchange. *That was the bargain, was it not? Give me the information my lord Anubis requires, and your friend will be returned to you. I assure you, she has not been harmed, merely restrained.*  
  
*I understand the bargain perfectly,* Daniel told her. *But I don't trust you any more than you probably trust me. I just want to make sure Sam is okay.*  
  
*If you insist,* Aurel decided reluctantly. *But you will not be able to return her to her proper plane of existence until you have informed me of the location of the Harcesis.*  
  
*Of course.*  
  
Of course? Sam thought, aghast. Daniel, what are you doing?  
  
Aurel's voice suddenly felt much closer. *Here she is. Keep you conversation brief, please. I do not have much time before I must report back.*  
  
*Daniel?* Sam tried again. *Can you hear me?*  
  
*I can hear you, Sam.* His voice flooded with relief. *Are you all right?*  
  
*Just great,* she said bitterly, *except that I seem to have ceased to exist. Care to explain?*  
  
Daniel ignored the question. *She's been keeping you in the dark the whole time?* Within moments, Sam found herself seated in her own living room, with Daniel and Aurel on the couch next to her. "Is this better?" he asked.  
  
Sam glanced down, relieved to see that she now had at least the illusion of a body. "Much. Now please, please tell me that you didn't agree to turn over your own stepson in return for me."  
  
Daniel looked away, refusing to meet her probing eyes. "What choice did I have?"  
  
"What were you thinking?" she asked angrily. "Are you nuts?"  
  
"Whatever your opinion of the agreement may be, Major," Aurel interrupted sharply, "it must be honored. Daniel . . ." Her voice trailed off expectantly.  
  
He said nothing.  
  
"Well?" she prompted impatiently. "Where is he?"  
  
Daniel considered this question for a moment, then answered mildly, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you that information. It's highly classified."  
  
Both women's heads jerked up to stare at him—Aurel's face showing more than a hint of frustration, Sam's the beginning of a smile. "You promised," Aurel hissed. "Does the life of your friend mean nothing to you, Daniel?"  
  
"It means a great deal." Daniel's voice was still soft, but now with a dangerous edge to it. "Which is why you're going to cut your losses right about now, leave, and let me send her home."  
  
Aurel snorted. "Are you really so simple-minded as to expect me to be eliminated easily?"  
  
Both of them were beginning to glow. Sensing this was a bad sign, Sam edged a little further towards the end of the sofa.  
  
"No, I'm not. So I have a backup plan in case you don't feel like listening to reason," Daniel observed, sending several sparks crackling out of his fingertips so that there could be no possible doubt as to the precise nature of that plan.  
  
This was so unlike the Daniel she knew that Sam began again to wonder whether he had gone totally crazy.  
  
Unfortunately, she wondered a bit too loudly, and he heard her. *I'm not crazy. But I may have no other way to get you out of here than to fight her.*  
  
*You're no match for her,* Sam protested, hating the damsel-in-distress role she'd been forced into. *Don't suppose there's anything I could do to help?*  
  
*Nope, sorry. Just stay out of the way the best you can,* Daniel told her. "Well?" he added aloud to Aurel. "Are you going to get out of the way, or am I going to have to force you out?"  
  
"The issue is no longer in our hands," she answered with a small smirk. "Major Carter has been permitted to depart; she is no longer relevant. You, however, have proven too recalcitrant to be useful." The smirk grew to a wide, satisfied grin; she had obviously been holding a brief conversation of her own. "My lord Anubis is not pleased, Daniel . . . not pleased at all." Aurel disappeared, leaving Daniel and Sam to stare at each other in shocked silence.  
  
A chill draft blew through the room, and Daniel cocked his head as if listening, although Sam could hear nothing. "What's happening?" she asked.  
  
He evaded the question again. "You've got to get out of here."  
  
"I can't leave you to deal with this alone."  
  
"You don't have the powers of an Ancient. There's nothing you could possibly do to help." The room was steadily growing colder, the wind stronger.  
  
"Daniel—" she said desperately, but he cut her off by seizing her wrist and literally throwing her down—  
  
not onto the floor, but through it, and she fell down past an infinity of emptiness, just barely hearing his last words to her over the howling wind before hitting cold concrete.  
  
-----  
  
The infirmary door opened suddenly, and all four of the room's conscious occupants turned to see Sam stagger in, holding on to the wall for support.  
  
Teal'c was the first to react, swiftly moving to catch her just as she collapsed entirely. "Major Carter, what has transpired?"  
  
She tried to tell them, made the best effort she could, but all she could manage was to repeat the last thing Daniel had told her.  
  
"He's coming," Sam whispered, and passed out. 


	16. The final battle

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," which I now know means "angst out the wazoo."  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Heroes Part 1." Specific scenes taken from "Children of the Gods," "Forever in a Day," and "Abyss."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I want you to review this chapter. As a matter of fact, Daniel also wants you to review this chapter. And you wouldn't want to let him down, would you?  
  
You'll see what I mean . . . *grins evilly*  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"He's coming?" Jack looked around in confusion. "Who's coming? Satan? Paul Revere? The Grand High Poopah of the Known and Unknown Multiverse? Any ideas, anyone?"  
  
No one said anything.  
  
No one had to.  
  
Jack realized the answer to his own question a second later. "Ah, shit . . . Anubis."  
  
-----  
  
Anubis was coming.  
  
Daniel stood stock still in the midst of the near-tornado now whirling through what still looked somewhat like Sam's living room. Far from being calm, however, he was very close to panic for the second time in as many days. In a way, he almost hoped the Others would stop him again—at least then he would have some idea what to expect—but he also knew that that would be an easy way out. He had threatened Anubis before, claimed to be more powerful than him, and he would have to prove it sooner or later, whether it was true or not. You got yourself into this, Daniel told himself, and you're damn well going to get yourself out.  
  
It was not a terribly comforting thought, but it strengthened his resolve, if only slightly.  
  
And only just in time. In a bare instant, the roaring winds around him stilled to a deadly calm, were replaced by an echoing voice that seemed to swirl around Daniel just as the tempest had. *Your insolence has ceased to amuse me, Daniel Jackson.*  
  
Daniel remained silent, waiting.  
  
Anubis continued, seeming not to have expected a response to begin with. *I thought you were an intelligent man, Daniel.* He made the word "man" sound derisive, an insult—and to him, perhaps it was. *I thought the destruction of Abydos would be enough of a lesson to you not to meddle in what you do not understand. It would seem that I overestimated you.*  
  
Still Daniel said nothing.  
  
Despite his previous claim, Anubis sounded very amused indeed. *And even when I was generous enough to offer you your precious planet restored, you turned me down. I never thought even an Ancient could be that idiotic.*  
  
"Apparently," Daniel said at last, "one can be."  
  
This answer seemed to delight the Goa'ould no end. *You will not be able to escape that way, Daniel. You might be simple-minded enough to be taken in by waffling and weak diversion, but I am not.*  
  
"I doubt I'm quite as weak as you think."  
  
*You really believe that?* Anubis laughed softly. *If you are so strong, Daniel Jackson, where was your strength here, when it was needed?*  
  
The familiar living room melted, changed, became something else wholly opposite. Daniel didn't recognize the room at first, but then he saw the grille in the opposite wall, recognized Jack trapped against it, gasping in pain as the artificial gravity sucked one jagged blade after another through his body.  
  
It was only too easy after that to recognize this as Ba'al's fortress.  
  
Daniel watched, as transfixed as his friend across the room, hearing Jack whisper his name, pleading for the guide he thought to have abandoned him.  
  
Why did I leave? he chastised himself. Even for a couple hours . . . I should've stayed right here the whole time.  
  
There was a chuckle from behind, and Daniel turned to see Anubis standing next to him, clad in a heavy robe as always. "You could have stopped this, Daniel. And yet you chose to watch him be tortured and die over and over again, rather than have to kill him yourself."  
  
"Another solution was found," Daniel pointed out. "He was rescued."  
  
"By pure chance. If that had not occurred, you would have simply stood by and watched until your friend's mind was entirely destroyed."  
  
"I would never have done that." But he wasn't certain. There was that possibility nagging at him—always had, in fact—would he really have been that cowardly, had the rest of SG-1 not solved the problem when they did?  
  
"You would have," Anubis assured him cheerfully. "You need have no doubts on that account."  
  
"I don't think so," Daniel said determinedly, and shot a bolt of energy straight at Anubis' mask.  
  
Anubis dodged the shot with an agility that was quite astounding considering the sheer weight of his robes, and returned a more powerful blast. Daniel twisted out of its path just in time, and managed to score a glancing blow along the way.  
  
And so it went, a conflict of wits and wills as much as of power, while at the other end of the room an unheeding self-styled god continued to kill a tired victim who no longer cared.  
  
-----  
  
Sam's eyes snapped open, and she turned over onto her side only to be greeted by the sight of Daniel's prone form on the next bed over. The only sign that he was even alive, as far as she could tell, was the steady, comforting beep of the heart monitor. "What happened?" she asked aloud.  
  
Janet looked up and hurried over. "Sorry, Sam, didn't see you were awake. How do you feel?"  
  
"I feel fine," Sam said impatiently, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and standing up before the doctor could stop her. Not even a wobble, she noted with relief. "What happened to Daniel?" she repeated urgently.  
  
"Just what I was about to ask you," Jack returned. "We've been sitting here watching him not move for the past hour or so, and you've been the one adventuring around on a higher plane."  
  
Sam walked over and stood across from him. "Actually haven't been doing much adventuring, sir; apparently I was just a bargaining chip. Daniel apparently told Aurel he'd tell her how to find Shifu if she freed me, but refused to actually honor the bargain once I was turned over. So apparently Anubis is not particularly happy, and I think he's decided to deal with Daniel personally."  
  
"Yeah," Jack said sourly, "we kinda figured that last bit out on our own."  
  
-----  
  
Had Anubis been an ordinary, average Perius (if such adjectives could be applied to that species) Daniel could have killed him several times over by now. Unfortunately, he wasn't, and Daniel wasn't quite sure he even had the upper hand in this conflict.  
  
It would've helped if he hadn't had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't even know what the conflict actually was.  
  
Just as suddenly as Daniel had begun the brief battle, Anubis desisted, seeming barely even perturbed. Daniel could feel himself flickering slightly, but he stabilized himself as best he could. His opponent raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "I must admit, you are stronger—in battle, at least—than I expected, especially from one so recently and inconsistently Ascended."  
  
"Just lucky, I guess," Daniel explained, trying feebly at a joke.  
  
"Perhaps," Anubis responded, "But not always, I think." And the room shifted again—this time into a much bigger space which Daniel knew all too well. After all, it had been practically his second home for over a year.  
  
But this time, the temple—normally a quiet, meditative place—had been thrown into absolute panic. Some people were wounded by staff blasts, others were tending to the injured, and many were simply panicking, terrified by the appearance of a threat they had been assured was gone forever.  
  
Then another man walked in and froze, taking in the chaotic scene unfolding in front of him. Daniel caught the glint of glasses, then saw the SG team following, and his gut clenched even as the other man ran in, his eyes desperately sweeping the room. "Don't bother," he muttered bitterly. "She's gone. Save your breath." But it was no use, and in the end Daniel simply watched Daniel frantically searching for someone who simply wasn't there, calling, calling . . .  
  
All these years later, he still did occasionally, even though he knew it was no use.  
  
He could feel the Goa'ould smiling behind him. "Why are you showing me this?" he asked. "What's the point?"  
  
"You failed again," Anubis said simply. "You were stupid enough to think you were safe, and you dug up the Stargate, and look what happened. Worse, it never even occurred to you that some other enemy might be able to use it. It was just a honkin' big rock—" Daniel winced at the painfully obvious Jack O'Neill impression—"and you had to have your fun. And this is what happened."  
  
Daniel slid down into a seated position, leaning against the wall. "That's not true," he whispered, clenching his fists. Be quiet, he added silently for good measure to himself, because all Anubis was doing was repeating things he'd considered far too many times before, and they both knew it. "Shut UP!"  
  
*Who?* Anubis asked silkily, making it quite obvious he could hear everything going on in Daniel's mind. *Whom do you want to silence—me, or yourself?*  
  
"Only you," Daniel growled, straightening up. As he did so, his clothes—he had chosen to appear in Sam's living room in a t-shirt and jeans—shimmered and changed to a set of robes not unlike those of the younger self he had been watching a minute ago. He found their familiarity somewhat comforting.  
  
Anubis cocked his head. "And you truly believe yourself capable of doing so? I most certainly do not."  
  
"We appreciate your input. Have a nice day," Daniel muttered, and let loose. Anubis jerked slightly at the ferocity of the attack, but promptly answered it with a far more powerful one which went a good way towards knocking him off his feet. Daniel took a couple of seconds to recover before retaliating, more vicously than before.  
  
Just a few yards away, Daniel was wandering aimlessly, so distraught that it was doubtful he would have noticed the battle going on a scant staff's length from him even had he been able to see it.  
  
-----  
  
General Hammond, who had regretfully but unavoidably disappeared to undertake the rest of his duties, reappeared half an hour after Sam woke up. "How's Dr. Jackson doing?"  
  
"No change," Janet informed him. "His pulse has slowed a little bit more, but it's still steady."  
  
"Do whatever you can for him, Doctor."  
  
"I can't do anything," Janet pointed out, but Hammond was already gone.  
  
"Optimism, please, doc," Jack instructed her reproachfully. "Just because Daniel here seems to be dying doesn't mean there's actually anything wrong with him."  
  
"Indeed, I have never known even death to prove a permanent obstacle to Daniel Jackson," Teal'c observed helpfully, wholly missing the sarcasm.  
  
"Thanks, T."  
  
-----  
  
Daniel was weakening, and he and Anubis were both perfectly aware of it. He wasn't in danger of being destroyed any time soon—at least, he didn't think so—but the combined emotional and physical assaults were taking their toll, and he was totally defenseless against the first of those tactics. His physical powers were having some effect on Anubis, but it just wasn't enough.  
  
When another lull finally made an appearance, Daniel was in fact nearly exhausted. Had he needed to breathe, he would have been panting. As it was, he was definitely wavering, and no longer able to stop it. He'd have to find a way to resolve this soon, preferably in his favor.  
  
At this point, though, oblivion was beginning to look like an interesting option. It didn't seem to be coming any time soon, though, and it really wasn't that interesting.  
  
Anubis listened to Daniel's musings, showing every sign of enjoying them immensely. *Glad to hear you're finally beginning to get a good idea of your own worth, Daniel.* Having reestablished his telepathic abilities—not that there had been much doubt to begin with—he continued aloud. "Shall we go on, then? There are many events, of course, which will all support my case. But there is one I think you will find particularly interesting."  
  
Daniel managed a weak smile. "I think I'd rather not, thank you."  
  
"Really," Anubis said, making a show of mock civility. "I insist."  
  
The now-deserted temple, like the other places they'd been, melted, brightened, shrank, became a tent. A relatively small canvas tent, on an otherwise inconsequential and anonymous desert planet, with a sharp, warm breeze tugging at the flap.  
  
Daniel sank to his knees, recognizing it instantly, and buried his face in his hands. "Oh, no. Oh, God, please no . . ."  
  
But he had to lift his head and watch, helplessly mesmerized, as the scene continued to appear before him. Two people materialized in the tent.  
  
Only two?  
  
It wasn't the same. Nearly, but not quite. Sha're/Amaunet was simply standing there, her left hand with the ribbon device hanging uselessly at her side.  
  
And it was he, not Teal'c, who was pointing an active staff weapon at her.  
  
"That's not how it happened," the Daniel kneeling in the corner insisted feebly.  
  
"Isn't it?" Anubis asked. "Are you certain of that?"  
  
Daniel shook his head slowly. "No," he admitted finally, watching as he (was it him?) fired on his own wife, who (unlike Jack) had not been beyond help . . . "No," he repeated, "I'm not sure."  
  
She crumpled to the ground, dead.  
  
"Even if it did happen the way you remember," Anubis continued relentlessly, "it really makes no difference. It was totally senseless to go in after her. You could so easily have waited for a better opportunity to rescue her, and yet for some inane reason you thought you could talk Amaunet out of her. You should have known that at least one of you would end up dead."  
  
"Yes," murmured Daniel, finally realizing the truth even as he too fell to the ground. He had been fighting Anubis all this time, and the whole time it had been Anubis who was right.  
  
Daniel curled up into a small, useless ball on the tent floor, just barely aware that the winds were beginning to swirl around him again. He didn't particularly care at this point.  
  
Whatever was going to happen to him at this point—hopefully something involving death—he deserved it.  
  
-----  
  
Watching the display, Janet took in a deep, shuddering breath and informed the other three, "Pulse just dropped by another five or six beats per minute.  
  
"Dammit . . ." Still desperately clutching Daniel's clammy hand in his own, Jack straightened abruptly in his chair. "Wait a second. Carter, you said these people could read minds, right?"  
  
"Yeah." Sam's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh!"  
  
Janet shrugged. "It's as good a plan as any."  
  
"Are you suggesting we attempt to communicate with Daniel Jackson telepathically?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"Exactly." Jack was nearly shouting in his excitement. "All right, everybody think good thoughts about Daniel as loud as you possibly can."  
  
-----  
  
Daniel was caught up in a whirling sandstorm. He was about to become a part of the sandstorm now. (He'd always loved the desert, anyway, and how much closer could you get to it than to become a part of it?)  
  
And then a small voice came into his head, seeming to travel up through what used to be his left arm, and it was a silver-haired colonel who'd been through far too much for any one man: Hang in there, Danny. (With oh-so- familiar undertones of "Goddamned evil snakeheads . . .")  
  
He reached back to the source, stretched out, heard more.  
  
A Goa'ould servant turned comrade, with powerful emotions he never showed: Do not succumb to the false god, Daniel Jackson.  
  
A blonde woman, the best mathemetician he'd ever met and the sister he'd never had: I believe in you, Daniel. You can beat him.  
  
A petite, brunette miracle-working doctor: Daniel, you'd damn well better get through this because there's no way I'm letting you die in my infirmary yet another time.  
  
He stretched out further, found more, even as the sand spun faster around him. Hundreds of people in the base, all of whom had been hurt by the Goa'ould, many by Anubis himself. Most of whom were friends of his, next best thing to family, who could never stand to lose him again.  
  
Further—out of the planet now, through a solar system, an entire galaxy, of people who experienced death, disaster, kidnapping, enslavement, rape at the hands of the Goa'ould, whether the victims were themselves or loved ones. An entire galaxy of people who hated the Goa'ould—and especially Anubis, the most powerful and fearsome of the lot.  
  
And, just as the desert was beginning to absorb him at last, Daniel fed on them. He felt their hate and rage, people who had lost their families, their freedom, even control of their own bodies, to those who claimed to be gods, and he fed on that hate and rage. Fed as well on the love the people of the SGC bore for him, and he found vast power in it all, and pulled it all into himself.  
  
Daniel opened his eyes, stared for a second into those of his dead wife.  
  
Then he finished gathering all the violence that the Goa'ould had fed into the universe and lashed out with it as hard and fast as he could.  
  
He waited a couple of seconds to make sure the storm was well and truly dead.  
  
Then Daniel Jackson went home.  
  
-----  
  
Just as they were beginning to think they had failed, a momentarily blinding flash of light filled the infirmary. An instant later, it faded to reveal Daniel curled up tightly on the floor, wearing Abydonian robes and shaking uncontrollably.  
  
With a brief, bemused glance at the still-occupied bed, Jack got up and knelt on the floor beside him, trying very hard not to realize that Daniel was not only shaking, but actually flickering like a birthday candle in a wind tunnel. "How's it going, Spacemonkey?"  
  
Daniel raised his head and smiled feebly. "I got him, Jack," he whispered triumphantly, and winked out of existence. 


	17. The end

TITLE: The Lost Ones  
  
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)  
  
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG-13 for weird evil happenings and general suffering/pain on the parts of all concerned. Also language, as always. And "thematic issues," which I now know means "angst out the wazoo."  
  
CATEGORY: supernatural, drama  
  
SUMMARY: Daniel is having terrible nightmares. And they're not only in his head . . .  
  
SPOILERS: I'm too lazy to keep track, so let's say anything up through "Heroes Part 1."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: You didn't really think I would kill Daniel, did you?  
  
This being the last chapter, I feel the urge to to be grateful to people. Therefore, I'd like to thank all of you for putting up with me for the past month and a half, 'specially LE McMurray, Frisha, spacemonkey766, koreanpearl, and my beta Ali, as well as anyone else from the OS forum.  
  
I'd also like to thank the band Blue Oyster Cult, whose song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" holds a lot of the blame for this story.  
  
Janet stared for a second at the spot where he had been, then switched her gaze swiftly back to the display in front of her. Her jaw dropped at the readout which greeted her. "EEG is showing normal brain activity," she reported in disbelief. "His pulse and respiration are also returning to normal."  
  
"Sweet." Jack stood up and turned back towards the others just in time to see Daniel begin to stir slightly and let out a barely audible groan.  
  
"Hey, Daniel," Sam said gently. "Can you hear me?"  
  
He nodded slightly and smiled, but kept his eyes closed. "Yeah, Sam. I hear you."  
  
"Welcome back, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added. "How do you feel?"  
  
Daniel opened his eyes tentatively and blinked several times in mock alarm at the Jaffa's undisguised grin of relief. "Anyone get the license plate number off that tank?"  
  
"I did," offered Jack from his other side, raising a hand. "Vanity plate, EVL-SNKE." The others laughed, but as Daniel transferred his gaze to him the smile was replaced momentarily by a look of what looked almost like guilt. Although the smile was back in another second, Jack didn't miss the change in expression. "Everything OK there, Daniel?"  
  
"I hope so," Daniel said quietly. "I'll get back to you when I've worked it out. I heard you guys before," he added, addressing himself to everyone now.  
  
"When we were trying to—" Sam searched for a word—"think at you?"  
  
He nodded seriously. "I wasn't doing too well there . . . couldn't have done it without you."  
  
Jack looked intently at Daniel, suspecting "not too well" to be a pretty big understatement, but decided it would be best not to bring the issue up just yet.  
  
Unable to find anything physically wrong with Daniel apart from fatigue, Janet kept him in the infirmary overnight as a pure formality, then released him on the condition that he go straight home and try to stay out of trouble for the next few days.  
  
The instant he got off duty, Jack went straight after him. Despite his outward cheerfulness—wholly deserved, in Jack's opinion—ever since his return, Daniel had been distinctly uncomfortable whenever the two of them spoke. Jack was determined to find out why.  
  
Daniel appeared a minute after Jack knocked, looking incredibly glum for someone who had just killed the most powerful Goa'uld in history. "Hi, Jack." Another visible flicker of guilt.  
  
Jack smiled winningly at him and wandered in without waiting to be asked. "So nice to feel welcome."  
  
Daniel closed the door behind him. "What do you want, Jack?"  
  
"Okay," Jack admitted, "maybe not that welcome." He plopped into the nearest armchair. "I was worried about you. Thought you'd be a bit happier about having just blasted Anubis into oblivion."  
  
"Oh, I'm happy, don't worry." Daniel forced a grin as he sat down on he chair opposite.  
  
"Damn hard to tell. Just what did he do to you, anyway?"  
  
Daniel said nothing for a minute. "Why do you care?" he asked abruptly.  
  
Jack gaped at him. "You're kidding. You're my best friend, Daniel, of course I care."  
  
"You shouldn't. Not after—" He fell silent.  
  
"After what?" Jack asked sharply.  
  
Daniel looked down at his folded hands. "I left you," he said quietly. "When Ba'al was torturing you . . . I just left, and you had no way to know I was coming back."  
  
"You did," Jack pointed out, wondering how this related. "You told me you had something else to take care of."  
  
"Maybe, but you didn't know that then. Anubis showed me." Daniel hugged himself tightly. "You thought I was gone. And you were calling me, and I wasn't there . . ." His voice was hoarse. "I have no idea what I was doing then, but it can't have been that important."  
  
"Daniel," Jack said seriously, "what part of 'evil' did you miss? Anubis was just trying to get you, you know that. Anything he told you is bull."  
  
"Sha're is dead," Daniel said softly. "That's not bull."  
  
"Sonofabitch," Jack swore forcefully, crossing the room and wrapping his arms tightly around his trembling friend. "Look, Danny, I don't know what that snakehead did to mess with your mind, but he lied, okay? Her death wasn't your fault."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."  
  
Daniel looked up and met the other man's eyes. "He won," he admitted finally in a near-whisper.  
  
Jack smiled slightly. "'Course he didn't. He's dead and you're alive, right?"  
  
"Yeah. But look at me, I'm a wreck." Daniel laughed nervously. "And by the time I heard from you guys—" he gulped— "Anubis was about to kill me. And I didn't mind, Jack. I wanted to die. By that point, I was pretty well convinced the world would be better off without me."  
  
"Fortunately," Jack assured him, "you were wrong." Then his eye was caught by the DVD case perched atop the television. Releasing the embrace and straightening up carefully, he walked over and picked it up. "Don't tell me you actually took one of my movie recommendations."  
  
"You'd better believe it." Daniel let out a barely audible sigh of relief at the return to their normal mode of conversation. "Fell asleep about halfway through, though."  
  
"How 'bout we watch it now?" Jack suggested. "We can order pizza. And I'm sure you've got some beer stashed away somewhere, no matter how much you may claim to hate the stuff."  
  
"No way." Daniel shook his head vehemently. "No beer here, for one thing. Besides, I know better than to watch movies with you. You're always talking back to the characters."  
  
"That's because they're usually idiots," Jack observed. "C'mon, Daniel . . . I'll make sure you stay awake, don't worry."  
  
Daniel groaned loudly. "I don't doubt it. All right, it's a plan, provided you don't order pineapple on the pizza this time."  
  
"You drive a hard bargain," Jack grinned.  
  
Between the two of them, Daniel and Jack ultimately anaged to make it—barely—through two pizzas (minus pineapple) and both "Independence Day" and "Godzilla." Jack had disappeared into the night, fortunately sober enough to drive thanks to the bucket of cold water Daniel had obligingly poured over his head, and Daniel was finally able to get some proper sleep in his own bed for the first time in what felt like months.  
  
No sooner had he closed his eyes, it seemed, than he was back in the briefing room, facing Oma Desala across the table. Daniel stared at her in shock. "You have got to be joking me."  
  
"Don't worry," she said, smiling. "You have done more than enough already, I promise you. I simply wished to tell you that we are all deeply in your debt."  
  
"Now there's a change of pace," Daniel muttered. "So am I going to be able to sleep now?"  
  
"You will return to a fully human state," she assured him. "We are still attempting to find the Perius Aurel, but your assistance will not be necessary. She will most likely be found with little difficulty."  
  
"Glad to hear it."  
  
"However, there is one other thing."  
  
Daniel glanced at her in trepidation. "What is it?"  
  
"Someone wishes to speak to you." Oma walked out without another word.  
  
Within moments, a young man walked in. Daniel did a double take—the newcomer looked uncannily like Sha're. Then he realized who it must be. "It's good to see you again."  
  
Shifu smiled back, gracefully taking the chair Oma had recently vacated. "It is good to see you as well, Daniel. I did tell you our paths would cross again."  
  
"So you did."  
  
"I wish to thank you for your efforts on my behalf," Shifu continued seriously. "As you know, I was unable to be present myself, but my uncle assures me you fought most valiantly, and that you succeeded in destroying Anubis."  
  
Daniel nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. He could feel Shifu probing his mind gently.  
  
"She would be very proud indeed," the younger man told him gravely, echoing his own words of three years before.  
  
"Thank you," Daniel said, his eyes brimming with tears. Still, he smiled. "She'd be proud of you as well."  
  
Shifu bowed in acknowledgement, and they were both quiet for a minute.  
  
"Is this the last crossing?" Daniel asked finally.  
  
"We will see," Shifu answered as he and the room began to fade. "One thing you should know by now, Daniel, is that anything is possible."  
  
Daniel smiled as he sank into deeper sleep.  
  
Anything was possible.  
  
Anything at all.  
  
~~THE END~~ 


End file.
